Following a public inquiry in Birmingham, Traffic Commissioner Mr M Dorrington has revoked the Public Service Vehicle (PSV) operator's licence held by Lugg Valley Travel Ltd.
He imposed four-year disqualifications on both the company and its sole director following a public inquiry that revealed shocking maintenance failures and serious safety risks to passengers, including schoolchildren.
The action follows a serious incident in November 2024 when a vehicle caught fire whilst transporting students. A subsequent unannounced maintenance investigation by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) uncovered systemic failings across the operator's fleet.
In what Traffic Commissioner Dorrington described as "the worst PSV fleet inspection that I have ever seen" in his 17 years as a Deputy and full-time Traffic Commissioner, all six vehicles inspected on 9 January 2025 received prohibition notices. Three vehicles received immediate "S" marked prohibitions proving significant maintenance failures.
The condition of three of the coaches was alarming:
- One found with three out of six wheel nuts loose on the nearside wheel. The wheel re-torque tag from six weeks earlier contained a warning from the tyre fitter stating: "New wheels needed!!! Customer use at their own risk!!!" No action had been taken.
- Another with an air leak was so severe that air pressure could not be sustained even with the engine running at fast idle. The vehicle was not in a roadworthy condition and posed obvious risks to passenger and road safety.
- Yet another where the driver's main mirror glass was wholly insufficiently repaired, impairing the driver's view to the rear. The tailgate would not secure in the closed position and could fly open inadvertently.
Just 12 days after this inspection, a fourth vehicle was found at Wigmore School carrying schoolchildren with a tyre bulge that could have failed at any time and a significant fuel leak that created a fire risk to passengers and a serious slip hazard to cyclists and motorcyclists.
The DVSA's examination of 59 Preventative Maintenance Inspection (PMI) records found 100% were not fully compliant. Not a single PMI record showed a satisfactory brake test had been conducted - a fundamental safety requirement.
Further serious defects included:
- 10% of PMI sheets recorded dangerous defects present, meaning vehicles had been in service with those defects
- 39% of inspections exceeded the stated PMI frequency
- An ineffective driver defect reporting system with vehicles remaining in service with known safety defects
- One vehicle travelled more than 500km carrying passengers with a recorded defect
Traffic Commissioner Dorrington found "The operator and transport manager were repeatedly putting passenger and road safety at real, and sometimes very serious, risk over a long period of time."
The operator's licence has been revoked under multiple sections of the Public Passenger Vehicles Act 1981 with effect from 31 December 2025.
Transport manager Mr Ian Davies has been disqualified for four years from 31 December 2025 until 30 December 2029 after losing his good repute. Before he can apply for restoration, he must complete a two-day classroom transport manager refresher course and shadow an experienced PSV transport manager for at least 20 days.
Both Lugg Valley Travel Ltd and its sole director Mr Nigel David Yeomans have been disqualified from holding or obtaining any type of operator's licence for four years from 31 December 2025 until 30 December 2029.
In his written decision, Traffic Commissioner Dorrington said, "There is absolutely no place in the passenger service industry for an operator like this… merely revoking the operator's licence would fail to properly reflect the gravity of this case."
The case serves as a stark reminder that passenger safety must override all other considerations in transport operations.
For full details of the decision , visit the Traffic Commissioner Regulatory Decisions page
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