Swindon-based Scorpion Engineering has launched an appeal against the Traffic Commissioner’s decision to revoke its operator licence, which followed a public inquiry in Bristol in October.
The Traffic Commissioner for the Western Traffic Area, Kevin Rooney, revoked the company’s licence as a result of “persistent and serious breaches of undertakings, including repeated overloading of vehicles, failure to comply with tachograph rules, and poor maintenance standards”, according to the Office of the Traffic Commissioner (OTC).
It said the Commissioner had found that the company’s compliance record was “truly dreadful”, citing 12 prohibitions and five fixed penalties over a five-year period for a fleet of just seven authorised vehicles.
Director Nigel Hannon was found to have acted recklessly, knowingly operating vehicles beyond their design limits and ignoring enforcement warnings. The Commissioner concluded that both Mr Hannon and Scorpion Engineering had lost their good repute.
Rooney said “I ask myself whether this is an operator I can trust to be compliant in the future. I find emphatically that I cannot. That is because of the repeated failings over a lengthy period of time, knowingly and recklessly made.
“Mr Hannon has been on notice for years in relation to the lack of capacity of the Sprinters but wilfully and recklessly chose to ignore that, even after it was pointed out to him by the enforcement agency. I am offered nothing to demonstrate that his cynical risk taking has abated.”
The revocation follows a history of compliance issues dating back to a previous public inquiry in 2017, the OTC said.
It added that, despite some improvements, the Commissioner had found that deliberate and reckless decisions continued, including operating unsuitable vehicles with trailers and failing to implement robust systems for load management.
The operator licence will cease on 24 January 2026, and the application for a new transport manager was withdrawn.
An appeal has been lodged for this decision, along with an application to stay, the OTC said.
Scorpion Engineering also confirmed it has launched an appeal, but declined to comment.
