Cabbie ordered to pay £6,000 court fees after losing appeal to win back his licence
A former hackney hackney carriage and private hire licence holder has been ordered to cough up a staggering £5,972 worth of court fees after losing his appeal to win back his badge.
Welsh taxi driver Colin Frazer Owen, who worked for CK cabs, had his licence revoked by Gwynedd Council following two separate incidents of violent behaviour.
Mr Owen lodged an appeal against the council’s decision in March this year to revoke his hackney carriage and private hire driver’s licence, but following a hearing, the court decided to uphold the decision. The court heard that Mr Owen had assaulted another taxi at Caergylchu Recycling Centre, Caernarfon on 3 May 2018.
He was also involved in another incident, this time with a customer in Llanrug on 9 February this year. Lawyers for the council said the licence was revoked by the authority with immediate effect in order to protect public safety. After the magistrates' hearing, Mr Owen said he disagreed with the evidence which was presented to the court, saying the recycling centre assault followed a period of alleged harassment. The altercation led to a police caution being issued to Mr Owen. As reported in North Wales Live, Mr Owen pointed out he had successfully appealed the council's decision and had his licence returned to him last October. Owen argued that the incident with the passenger took place after the drunk customer had assaulted him. The police were also called to this incident. "I gave the police a statement and that is as far as it went. I understood the passenger did not want to continue with a complaint. "I was in the surgery with my son when an e-mail arrived to say my licence had been revoked. "I was not given an opportunity to explain what had happened and I do not have a conviction as a result of this incident. I really had no option but to appeal to the court," he said. Cllr Gareth Griffith, Gwynedd Council Cabinet Member for Environment, said: “We are pleased with the court’s decision which sends a very clear message that incidents of threatening behaviour from taxi drivers who operate in the county will not be tolerated. “At the hearing, the magistrates found that this individual was not suitable to be a taxi driver. "Whilst the vast majority of the industry operate with respect, this unfortunate incident shows that Gwynedd Council will not tolerate inappropriate behaviour from drivers and that if necessary, we will defend our decisions in court.”
Image: Source; Pixabay
