Directors shown the door for ‘fronting’

Two Shepperton operators who acted as a ‘front’ for an indefinitely disqualified haulage boss have both been kicked out of the industry for five years.

The licences for P Young Transport and One Call Grab & Tipper were also revoked following an Eastbourne public inquiry before deputy TC John Baker. Neither of the directors, Anthony Amer nor Christopher Lidyard, appeared at the PI, which DTC Baker said only added to the list of negatives in the case.

Roadside encounters of vehicles authorised to P Young’s licence revealed serious drivers’ hours infringements, with one of the drivers using two digital cards and driving for One Call Grab & Tipper as well as P Young Transport. Further investigations suggested that the person who used P Young’s operating centre was Tom McKinney – a director who was disqualified indefinitely in 2006. The driver appeared at the PI and told the DTC that the two haulage firms were really just one and that McKinney was the boss.

DTC Baker said the case was in the severe category and he disqualified the two directors and revoked the licences. He said a third director, Marc Lambie, who resigned a few weeks before the PI, was on notice that he could be disqualified because “it is more likely than not that he knew during the time he was a director of the role played by McKinney.”