Transport firm loses license after lorry found 'carrying thousands of litres of beer illegally'

Willenhall business Albion Metal & Waste Ltd has broken 'basic rules', the West Midlands Traffic Commissioner ruled.

Commissioner Nick Jones said the firm had used their operator's licence to assist in the illegal importation of alcohol.

At a public inquiry, Mr Jones heard one of the company's vehicles had been seized in Dover by Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs in January 2013 after picking up the beer in France.

Officers found the vehicle was carrying over 23,000 litres of beer. When the driver produced paperwork for the load to HMRC officers, they found the same document had previously been used for the transportation of alcohol.

Mr Jewkes said he had not been importing alcohol illegally at the hearing but the commissioner says he was unable to provide any paperwork to support his evidence. He had not pursued an appeal to get the vehicle back.

He today insisted he had done 'nothing wrong'. But he said he could not afford to appeal against the ruling as it would cost him up to £20,000 in legal fees. Mr Jewkes will also be disqualified from holding or obtaining a licence for 12 months and will not be able to work as a transport manager again until he passes an examination.

The commissioner also heard from examiners at the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, DVSA. Their investigations revealed numerous issues with vehicle and driver standards, including that a vehicle was issued with a safety critical prohibition notice for a poor quality repair; a vehicle parked on the road did not have a valid MOT; a number of infringements were found from driver tachograph records and no analysis was carried out of driver records to make sure they were working legally. Mr Jewkes told the commissioner he had expertise and business experience and that improvements had been made since.

However, the regulator expressed his disappointment that Mr Jewkes, as a director and the firm's transport manager, could not show how he had dealt with driver offences – and had also been committing offences himself. Mr Jewkes was unable to produce any evidence to show the required systems were now in place.

Reaching a decision to revoke the company's licence, Mr Jones said: "This operator had run vehicles to a very low standard without the minimum expertise being met. Mr Jewkes has not performed a proper role as transport manager and probably does not appreciate what it involves in any event.

"Bryan Jewkes has run a successful business in that he owns a number of properties which have considerable value. However it is clear his success had been obtained by manipulating rules, including those relating to the importation of alcohol."

The company's licence will be revoked on August 1. The company and Mr Jewkes will be disqualified for 12 months from that date.

Mr Jewkes said: "I have been treated very harshly. The driver has committed no offence – he just took the documents he was given. We've done runs like this before and had no problems. This is totally wrong and it is disgusting the way it has been put across. Without a licence I can't run my business."