Coach firm set for axe over false records

AN Edinburgh coach firm is set to go out of business after losing an appeal against the severity of its sentence for falsifying tachograph records and drivers' hours.

Browns of Edinburgh owner Alistair Brown was banned from holding a public service vehicle operator licence for four years at a hearing in May.

Scottish Traffic Commissioner Joan Aitken ruled that Mr Brown had potentially put other road users at risk by lying about the number of hours drivers were working.

The Broxburn-based firm then appealed the sentence as he was a sole trader and the ban would effectively put him out of business. But the appeal has now been thrown out.

The Transport Tribunal's ruling stated: "We are satisfied that this was a bad case of systematic falsification involving Ronald and Rhona Brown and a number of drivers, including Ronald Brown.

"He would also have been aware of the pressure being placed upon the drivers to ensure that the vehicles were back."