Manager failed to run businesses
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• The duration of licences held by a Welsh operator with two companies has been cut as he did not regularly inspect or keep maintenance records.
North Western Traffic Commissioner Martin Albu ruled that licences held by Les Hughes, who trades as both Lakeside Haulage and Lakeside Coaches, of Denbigh, will end in February.
The Commissioner reduced Hughes' authorisation from four vehicles to one, and from seven to six on his PCV licence: he operates one truck and four PCVs.
Albu said Hughes had totally failed to manage the businesses, leaving the running of the business to an unqualified person who let him down. Albu said he would give Hughes time to see if he could run the business properly.
ogr vehicle examiner David .Aitken told the Manchester disciplinary inquiry that three coaches and a truck seen by vehicle examiners were all given immediate prohibition notices.
Clearance of the prohibitions was refused because further defects were found including seven immediately dangerous items. He concluded that Hughes had no control over the maintenance of the vehicles.
Eleven prohibitions had been imposed since 1988. I lughes said he had not known about the condition of the vehicles and that the business was managed by an employee, an Adrian Kitchen, who disappeared when the DOT refused to lift the prohibitions Hughes said he had not seen Kitchen since. The operator admitted that though he was the nominated transport manager on both licences, he had nothing to do with the day-to-day running. lie did not sign the licence application forms: Albu said that this just made things worse.