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hillips' drivers face E1,580 in fines
Page 21
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• The trial of Phillips Tankers (Bulk Powders) Manchester and two of its direcon charges of permitting irs to exceed the hours s and falsify tachograph Is, and the operation of und vehicles, has been adied until November by the ird Magistrates. But six of :ompany's drivers were red to pay fines and costs ling £1,580 after admitting s and tachograph offences. le company admitted eight ices of using vehicles withxcise licences, but denied similar offences; five off!s of failing to produce °graph charts; 12 of perng drivers to make false Les; two of permitting driv:o fail to use tachographs,
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and 20 of permitting them to drive excessive hours and take insufficient rest.
Director Peter Phillips denied 10 offences of aiding and abetting the company to use untaxed vehicles and five of permitting drivers to falsify charts. Director Neil Lightfoot denied seven offences of permitting drivers to falsify charts.
Phillips told the magistrates that he had been away in Italy, returning the previous afternoon, at which point he had learnt that the defence solicitor had withdrawn from the case. He assured the court that he wanted to get the case over, but he was loathe to continue without representation.
Mark Callaghan, prosecuting, said a further complication was that he understood the company had gone out of business. Phillips had assured him that it had been wound up, but he had not seen a winding up order.
Adjourning the case against the company and the two directors until November, the magistrates said that it was ridiculous that the case had been hanging about for so long.
Dealing with the drivers, Callaghan said the offences had come to light as a result of a routine investigation of the tachograph records by the Greater Manchester Police. The false records had come about when drivers had driven using two or three charts in a day; one in their own names, the others in the names of Phillips and Lightfoot.
Driver Alastair Robb said there had not been any finan cial gain for the drivers the only one who had gained was Phillips. Driver Roger Bache said they had just been trying to help a new company. A number of drivers had gone several weeks without wages.
Robb, of Cheadle Heath, was fined £150 for nine offences, including three of making false entries, and was ordered to pay 230 costs. Bache, of Gorton, Manchester, was fined £400 with £30 costs for 13 offences, including seven of making false entries. John Longrigg, of Moreton, Wirral, was fined £400 with £30 costs for five offences, including two of making false entries.
The other three drivers, Graham Barnes, of Glossop; James Hamman, of Titnperley; and David Barclay of Warrington; were each fined 2150 with £30 costs for two offences.