Cabbie loses bid to keep taxi licence
http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/ne ... ticle.html
A TAXI driver who pocketed more than £13,000 worth of foreign currency while working as a postman has lost his appeal to win back his licence to operate.
Richard Waterhouse has been told that honesty is a vital characteristic in those wanting permission to drive a taxi.
Stafford Borough Council removed the 38-year-old's licence after reading in The Sentinel that he had plundered special delivery packets at the Royal Mail depot in Stone after volunteering to sort them.
In May, Waterhouse, of Back Lane, Hixon, Stafford, admitted eight charges of theft.
He was handed a 12-month prison sentence suspended for two years.
He was also ordered to pay £1,681 compensation with £1,000 costs.
Waterhouse had been working for Westside taxis since December 2008.
But he did not tell the council about the court case.
His appeal against the decision to remove his licence was refused at Stafford Magistrates' Court last week.
Council solicitor Simon Turner said honesty was a key component of whether someone was a fit and proper person.
He added that the council's policy requires those holding a licence to be 'fit and proper'.
Magistrates' chairman Keith Taylor said: "The thefts were for a large sum over a long period of time and you were in a position of trust."
Waterhouse told the court that at the time of the offences, worth a total of £13,464 in sterling, he was under a lot of stress but had learnt from his mistakes.
Speaking after last week's appeal, Councillor Stan Highfield said: "I am very pleased the magistrates agreed with our decision.
"The protection of the public is the most important consideration when we allow people to have a licence to drive taxis in our borough."
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