A haulage boss broke driving hours rules when his company was struggling as a result of coal sanctions imposed in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Francis Cleaver, 61, was running the business set up by his father when it was hit by a series of problems.
A contractor went bust in 2019 owing the company £1.4m. The pandemic then hit, although the firm kept on all its employees and took government loans.
READ MORE: Ice skater rapist will spend less time behind bars
Then, after the invasion of Ukraine last year, the Lincolnshire power plant with whom the firm had a contract had to stop using Russian coal in favour of American imports.
Rather than the ash being taken from West Burton power station by train to Didcot, where it had been picked up by Cleaver’s drivers and taken for disposal in Thatcham, the use of different coal meant the ash waste had to be driven in special trailers all the way from the East Midlands to Berkshire.
A shortage of both drivers and the specialist trailers needed to transport the ash left the company in difficulty.
Cleaver picked up extra driving hours himself. He used a replacement tachograph card he should have returned to the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency to hide the fact he was driving long hours without the full rest periods set by law.
His use of the two cards to game the system lasted less than two months and was ‘inevitably’ uncovered when DVSA officers checked the digital tachograph machine, Oxford Crown Court heard. Importantly, the company boss did not ask his team of drivers to follow his example.
Appearing before Oxford Magistrates’ Court last month, Cleaver, of Ramsden, West Oxfordshire, pleaded guilty to 33 charges of using a ‘false instrument’. The case was sent to the crown court for sentence.
Imposing 15 months’ imprisonment suspended for a year and a half on Thursday (March 16), Recorder John Bate-Williams said: “It takes very little imagination to contemplate the potential consequences of a driver of a 44 tonne vehicle becoming weary and losing control and concentration on a public road.
“A tired driver is, as you well know, liable to lose concentration and make mistakes.”
READ MORE: Community order for man who made bizarre threat
The decision to exceed lawful driving hours could have led to manslaughter charges or charges of causing death by dangerous driving, the judge said.
In mitigation, Harry Bowyer said the background to the offending painted ‘a picture of a man whose business was circling the drain’.
He added: “This is someone who was trying to keep a business that he and his father had set up and run perfectly compliantly.”
Mr Bowyer said of the motivation behind the fraud: “Greed is not so much of a factor as working to save a life’s work and save the jobs of those he employed.”
Tragically, it was said that since the offences came to light, HM Revenue and Customs had ‘tightened the rules’ around PAYE payments to the Exchequer – and the taxman had applied to make the family firm insolvent. Cleaver was now working as a mechanic.
The defendant was ordered to pay more than £3,100 in costs and must do 200 hours of unpaid work.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article