A man from the Roseland pleaded guilty at Truro Magistrates Court on Thursday to driving a private hire vehicle whilst unlicensed, operating a private hire vehicle whilst unlicensed and failing to keep proper records.

Anthony Charles Herrick, 67, of Harbour View, St Just in Roseland, was fined a total of £200 and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £25 and council costs amounting to £1,608.72.

The court heard that Herrick, who was initially licensed by Cornwall Council as a private hire driver and operator, had been visited on three separate occasions by Cornwall Council enforcement officers in an attempt to get his driver records compliant. He failed to renew his private hire driver licence in December 2015 and on January 18, 2016, officers again visited his home address as a result of evidence obtained to prove he was driving without his licence. A prosecution file was duly submitted and the matters were referred to Truro Magistrates.

After the hearing Cornwall Council’s licensing compliance officer Andrea Carter said: “I am very pleased with the outcome of this matter. Mr Herrick has been persistently non-compliant in terms of keeping the correct private hire records and all attempts to get him to become compliant proved fruitless. When evidence was forthcoming to show that he had been driving, having failed to renew his licence, we had no option other than to instigate prosecution proceedings.”