Minicab driver who accepted unbooked fare is finedA minicab driver who accepted a £7.70 walk-up fare despite not being a Hackney carriage has been told to pay more than £450.
Barry Studholme, 46, did not know he was picking up an undercover council officer.
Studholme, of Highpool Close, Newton, was in his taxi at 4am on November 11 when the officer approached his car outside the Kings House pub. The officer asked if the driver, who should only have taken pre-booked fares, if he would take them to Morriston.
The officer got into the back of the taxi and was asked to pay upfront because it was not a pre-booked fare. When officers checked the records at his firm, Yellow Cabs, there was no record of the fare and he had not taken the name of the officer, or phoned through the booking at any time during the journey.
Magistrates were told he had pulled over because he was feeling unwell when the officer approached. Studholme pleaded guilty to driving a carriage which was not licensed as a public Hackney carriage, an offence under the Town Police Clauses Act 1847.
Magistrates fined him £200, told him to pay costs of £250 and a £20 victim surcharge.
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