Scaffolding operator used defective trucks on the roads

A scaffolding company in Hemel Hempstead that took vehicles from its maintainers and continued operating them despite being unroadworthy has had its licence revoked, with the loss of around 20 jobs.

The traffic commissioner (TC) for the East of England, Nick Denton, said HS Scaffolding had failed to live up to promises director Karl Yarham had made at a previous public inquiry (PI) and deserved to be put out of business.

The operator appeared at a Cambridge public inquiry after a roadside inspection of one of its vehicles in August 2021 led to an S marked prohibition for a long-standing, insecure headlight defect.

HS Scaffolding had previously attended a PI in 2016 for poor maintenance documentation, ineffective driver defect reporting systems, and inadequate brake testing. At the time, Yarham said he would attend an O-licence management course and so a warning was issued.

However, a DVSA maintenance investigation following the S marked prohibition uncovered a host of problems at the firm. These included lorries not being signed off as roadworthy, no records of any brake tests, and drivers not carrying out effective walk-round checks.

At the PI, the TC noted that HGVs were signed off as unroadworthy and yet the operator had continued to use them on the roads, with one travelling 3,223km in less than seven weeks.

The TC asked Yarham why he had not followed up on previous assurances that he would ensure the business was operated correctly and also why he took a truck from the maintainer’s premises and continued to operate it without getting any of its defects fixed: “Mr Yarham could not provide an explanation,” he said in his written decision. The director asked for a six-month period of grace to show that he could run a compliant operation.

Denton noted that HS Scaffolding’s MoT pass rate was good, but he added: “Because of the seriousness of the defects, the clear evidence that vehicles have been knowingly operated in an unroadworthy condition, and Mr Yarham’s complete failure to make good on the promises he gave the DVSA, I find that the company is not fit to hold an operator’s licence.”

Yarham and the company were also disqualified for five years.