Defects 'were caused by driving over landfill sites'
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Gwent-based waste Muller Penny Ind ustrial Services will appeal against the two-week suspension of its licence by Welsh Traffic Commissioner David Dixon.
A Cardiff disciplinary inquiry heard how Stephen Penny runs Penny Industrial Services, which trades as Heads of the Valley Waste Disposal, while his brother David operates as a sole trader in the same line of business, and is also a director of the company.
Both operators were called before the TC over a "pretty dreadful" maintenance record; Dixon also considered an application to transfer David Penny's vehicles to the firm's licence.
Vehicle examiner Douglas Goff said the businesses were run in tandem. The combined fleet of 17 vehicles and 15 trail. em had been issued with 34 prohibitions in 22 months. David Penny claimed many had been employed, and it defects were caused when vehicles had to drive over landfill tips which, he said, "contain anything you care to name". They carried bulk domestic waste from transfer stations to the sites, which were some of the roughest terrain a CV could go on, he added. The vehicles had to be dragged on and off the tips by large off-road machines.
The businesses were contracted to firms responsible for removing waste for local authorities across South Wales, and Penny warned that if they could not do their work there could be a build-up of waste. The company had invested heavily in new premises on the Cwm Draw Industrial Estate, Ebbw Vale, and was upgrading its fleet.
A new foreman fitter would also employ another skilled person to help with maintenance. The drivers were being told of the importance of carrying out checks on their vehicles before setting off. "If we lose our Operator's Licence they lose their livelihoods," said Penny Revoking David Penny's licence and suspending the company's licence from 18 March, the Commissioner said: "There is a clear failure on the part of both operators to fulfil an undertaking to ensure vehicles are kept fit and serviceable. This, together with the prohibitions, entitles me to take action against the licences."
Granting the company's variation application, the TC required an undertaking that vehicles would be inspected by their drivers before they left landfill sites.