Contractor says he will put matters right, following hearing

A CAITHNESS haulage contractor has pledged to remedy a situation which has seen the Traffic Commissioner for Scotland curtail its licence.
Spittal-based Caithness Stone Industries was called to account after some of its vehicles failed tests.
One of its fleet of nine vehicles had a cracked wheel rim in November last year. The following month, a trailer failed an annual test when it was found to have 10 slack bolts. Two more vehicles failed tests earlier this year.
It emerged that the firm had failed to tell the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency that a local garage was repairing and maintaining its fleet. Employee, Willie Kennedy told a Commissioner hearing in Inverness, that the vehicles were normally examined by a local mechanic before being sent to testing and that he had now started a routine of extra checks. However, Stone Industries had no mentioned this to a visiting inspector.
Commissioner Joan Aitken expressed concern and told company director, John Sutherland to ask the Freight Transport Association to carry out an audit of the business which she said would restore credibility and “piece of mind for you and for me”. She curtailed the firm’s licence so it can only operate four of its existing nine vehicles instead of nine. Company bosses will reappear again before her, on November 2.
After the hearing, Mr Sutherland gave an assurance that he would put matters right.