Swadlincote-based Shellard Travel and its director Adam Shellard were disqualified from holding a PSV O-Licence for four years after the company’s four-vehicle licence was revoked by Traffic Commissioner (TC) Richard Turfitt. Former Transport Manager (TM) Shane Scragg was disqualified from acting as such for one year.
The TC said that Shane Scragg was the TM between 11 May 2013 and 7 April 2025. Christopher Hughes was then the TM from 17 July. On 18 August, he notified the Office of the Traffic Commissioner that he had decided to withdraw his resignation, but his name had already been removed from the licence. He then agreed to reinstate his services as TM, but Mr Shellard failed to engage with the process, and he withdrew his offer.
Preventative maintenance inspections (PMIs) were said to be carried out by a third party operator in Loughborough at 10-weekly intervals. DVSA received information in June from the contractor indicating that it had ceased business contact with the company.
In March, a traffic examiner attempted to visit the authorised operating centre but found it was no longer in use and had not been since October 2024.
Arrangements were then made with Mr Shellard to attend on 4 April. That had to be rescheduled to 9 April, although Mr Shellard proved to be unavailable as he had to travel to Spain to deal with two broken down coaches, neither of which were apparently specified. A vehicle examiner and a traffic examiner subsequently conducted their investigation on 15 April.
They reported: that there was no TM; the use of an unauthorised site to keep vehicles with inadequate parking; that 12 of the drivers were found to be ‘self-employed’; that there was no formal driver training; that there was no monitoring of Driver CPC qualifications; that there was an absence of driver licence checks; that there was no effective route planning; that working time records were not checked; incomplete PMI records — missing dates or unsigned; that 17% of inspections were late; inconsistent use of the forward planner; that no driver defect reports were provided; that a change of maintenance contractor was not notified; that there was no vehicle emissions systems; and that there was no wheel security or tyre management.
Prior to the Public Inquiry the company was directed to lodge evidence in support, including financial, maintenance and other compliance documentation. The company was not present at the hearing.
DVSA had intelligence suggesting that Mr Shellard might have been detained by police regarding inquiries into serious offences, but there was no contact from anyone in the company.
No financial evidence was produced. There has been no TM in place since the resignation of Mr Hughes. The changes, even down to the absence of a maintenance contract, clearly pointed towards continuing non-compliance. On that basis, TC Turfitt concluded that the company should be removed from the industry.
The failure by Mr Scragg to either attend or engage was not indicative of a reputable TM. Quite the opposite. He had denied the TC the opportunity to ask questions as to how he had permitted the shortcomings identified. That did not amount to effective or continuous management.
