No return for impounded 38-tonne ark
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KENT OPERATOR Caiross lost its bid for the return of an impounded vehicle after South-Eastern and Metropolitan Traffic Commissioner Christopher Heaps concluded that at the time of its detention it was being used not by the company but by someone whose 0-licence had been revoked.
The 38-tonne artic was loaded with scaffolding and boards when it was stopped by police in Hastings. The driver, Ashley Cheeseman, did not have a valid driving licence, the tachograph was not operational and no 0-licence disc or excise licence was displayed.
Cheeseman had said he was employed by Hastings-based Total Access. He had spoken to his "boss" and the phone had then been passed to a police officer. The conversation was with Christian Ball, who had said that his company was Caiross, trading asTotal Access, and that he had just bought the vehicle.
Christian Ball was a director of Total Access Solutions,whose licence was revoked inApril 2005. and a director of Total Access Services (South East) whose licence application was withdrawn by him in November 2005. Caiross's sole director was Melvyn Ball.
The company sought the return of the vehicle on the grounds that they were using the vehicle and held a licence at the time of its detention.
Refusing to return the vehicle, theTC said that in the light of the conversation between Christian Ball and the police officer he considered that the vehicle was being used by Christian Ball and not by the company -and Christian Ball did not hold a licence.