A TAXI driver for a Silloth firm will not be banned from the roads, despite having 12 points on his licence and driving without the right licence or insurance.

Robert Tinnion, who drove for Select Cabs, was prosecuted by Allerdale council after an anonymous tip-off.

He appeared at Keswick and West Allerdale Magistrates Court yesterday and admitted driving a taxi without a hackney licence and having no insurance.

But magistrates chose not to ban him because it would cause him “exceptional hardship.”

Tinnion, 45, of Frizington Road, Frizington was given six penalty points and fined £100 for each of the two dates he drove a hackney carriage for Select Cabs without insurance on April 24 and 25, 2006.

There were no separate penalties for the two charges of driving the hackney carriage while unlicensed.

Select Cabs owner, Stanley Glover, 56, of Pica Cottages, Pica, pleaded guilty in court last September to charges of aiding and abetting Tinnion to drive a hackney carriage when not a licensed driver and without insurance. He was also fined £200, received 12 penalty points and was ordered to pay costs of £75.

http://www.timesandstar.co.uk/news/viewarticle.aspx?id=468762