Discharge granted in hours case
Page 14
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
• Police in Carmarthen pulled an Irish ownerdriver off the A48 and locked him up overnight when they found that he had exceeded his driving hours and falsified tachograph charts.
His lorry, loaded with pears, was left in a police pound while he was driven on a 35-mile round trip the following morning to appear before Llanelli magistrates.
Michael Joseph Power, of Ferrybank, Waterford, pleaded guilty to three offences of taking insufficient rest, two of exceeding the daily driving limit, and two of falsifying tachograph charts.
Defending Robert Powell said that Power had operated three vehicles before the recession hit his business. He was now down to one.
Power had continued driving Power ha driving sheer des on a trip back from the Continent "out of sheer desperation".
The magistrates gave Power a conditional discharge for three years, but they ordered him to pay £25 prosecution costs though he only had £8 in UK money in his pocket. He was told to change some of his Irish Punts and French Francs, and pay the costs before leaving the country.
d kept on out of peration