Limousine operator has licence revoked after Walsall prom night stop
A limousine operator has had her licence revoked after inspectors pulled over a vehicle taking pupils to their prom night in Walsall and found it was operating illegally.
Sarah Farrell has been disqualified from holding or obtaining a licence to carry passengers for 12 months by the West Midlands Traffic Commissioner Nick Jones who found she had been "reckless" in failing to check the legal status of her stretch Dodge limousine which was stopped in an inspection exercise by the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency.
It had been carrying five passengers from Wednesbury to their school prom at Banks's Stadium on June 29 last year.
It was found that Ms Farrell did not have the proper paperwork and the limo was kitted out with a large number of seats even though her licence only allowed her to carry eight passengers or less.
Mr Jones said: "Legitimate limousine operators suffer from those that flout the law and thereby gain commercial advantage.
"Sarah Farrell has obtained commercial advantage in breaching the clear rules which were spelt out to her in unequivocal terms in November 2011."
He said it had been a "flagrant breach of basic legal requirements".
He added: "I take into account the fact that she is not a large-scale commercial enterprise, instead she is a naive foolish individual who ought to have applied instead for a private hire licence from a local authority.
"In looking for positives I accept that this operator is not in the category of large scale, sophisticated illegal operation that tarnishes the reputation of the limousine industry, this allows me to keep any disqualification relatively short."
Her licence will be revoked from Thursday and she will also be disqualified from applying for or holding an operator's licence in any traffic area for a period of 12 months.
