Limousine business owner Sooty Edwards fined for having no licence
Published: 07/02/2012 14:44 - Updated: 07/02/2012 14:57
Sooty Edwards with one of his limousines
Limousine business owner Sooty Edwards has been fined thousands of pounds for running the company illegally.
Police and licensing officers have discovered that Edwards, 50, was running Skooters limousine business without a private hire operator’s licence.
He has also found guilty of driving a stretched limousine without a private hire driver’s licence and using a private hire limousine without the correct licence, making the business illegal.
As a result, he has been fined £2,700 and must pay £3,493 in costs.
Edwards, a die-hard Cambridge United fan, of Hill Row Causeway, Haddenham, was caught following a number of complaints and an undercover operation involving Cambridgeshire Police, officers from East Cambridgeshire District Council and the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA).
The fact he had no licence means that if passengers travelling in one of his limousines had been involved or hurt in a crash they would not have been able to claim any compensation.
Edwards would also not have been subject to the required safety checks, which include a driving standards test and a Criminal Record Bureau Check (CRB).
Unlicensed vehicles have also not been through the required mechanical inspections and tests to ensure they are mechanically safe to use on the road and to carry fare-paying passengers.
Elizabeth Bailey, principal environmental health officer at the district council, said the prosecution against Edwards should come as a warning to other limousine operators.
She said: "The last thing anyone wants to do when they are arranging an event or a special day out is worry about the safety of the driver or vehicle."
"In our case against the company Skooters, the vehicle, driver and company were all unlicensed, and despite repeated requests to become licensed, the owner failed to act on our advice, and carried on operating."
"We hope this comes as a warning to any operator who thinks they can cut corners and not licence themselves and their vehicles, and reminds local residents to ask the right questions of their private hire company."
In January 2010, Edwards and his son Kristian, who was 21 at the time, were handed suspended prison sentences after they set themselves up as cigarette smugglers.
The father-and-son duo had claimed they brought in 500,000 contraband cigarettes to raise funds to buy a bigger stake in Cambridge United FC for supporters, but they were convicted of evading £87,000 in duty.
Sooty was given a six-month sentence, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to carry out 300 hours of unpaid work - the maximum amount that can be imposed.
Kristian was given three months' imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, and was ordered to do 150 hours of work in the community.
Source; http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Home/Li ... 022012.htm
