The licence held by Durham-based Anglo Dutch Logistics has been revoked by the North Eastern Traffic Commissioner, Tom Macartney, following evidence that an associated coach company was carrying passengers without an O-licence. The TC branded sole director Anne Stidwell a liar, and has disqualified her and former director David Pritchard from holding an O-licence indefinitely.
The company held a licence for four vehicles and six trailers. An application for a five -ehicle PSV O-licence by Anglo International Coaches, a director of which was Stidwell's common-law husband Ralph Brown, has been withdrawn. The TC had information from Vosa and the police that coaches had been frequently used to carry passengers within the UK by a Dutch company, Browns Coaches BV, of which Stidwell was a director.
This had been happening, despite revocation of the Dutch company's licence. The TC said that ADL had obtained an O-licence by deception, had never employed a transport manager, and had a variety of links with entities that have been operating illegally using vehicles carrying out domestic and international journeys.
Stidwell had obtained a licence by deceit. She had been deeply involved as a director, and also as a director of Browns Coaches BV in operating transport for domestic and international journeys while there was no licence in existence in either the UK or the Netherlands. She had lied to him and had left the public inquiry in the course of giving evidence, when the questioning proved to be more searching than she had anticipated.
Pritchard had obtained an O-licence by deceit. He had been deeply involved in the operation of vehicles carrying passengers both domestically and internationally used by Browns Coaches BV and possibly Browns Coaches UK. Pritchard was a director of Anglo Dutch from 13 September 2007 until 1 November 2008, during the key period of application for the licence. He falsified the licence application, by declaring that he had not previously held a licence, nor had he been named on a licence which had been revoked. The licence would not have been granted had it been completed correctly and truthfully.
Suspicions would have been raised The TC was certain that had Pritchard declared his previous history or had Stidwell been nominated as a director on the original application, the licence would not have been granted without further investigation.
