AN UNLICENSED taxi was used to take children to and from a Porthmadog school, a court has heard.

The Skoda Octavia was being used to transport children to the language unit at Ysgol Eifionydd on 20 June last year as part of A1 Taxis’ contract with Gwynedd Council.

The vehicle’s licence, however, had expired six weeks earlier

Taxi company boss, David Alan Owen, 60, of Bethesda, pleaded guilty in front of magistrates in Caernarfon last week to being the proprietor of a private hire vehicle without having a current licence.

He was fined £450 and ordered to pay £245 costs.

Following the case, a Gwynedd Council spokesperson said: “We are satisfied with the outcome of the hearing and would like to thank the magistrates for highlighting the importance of ensuring that taxi drivers are licenced as a means of ensuring public safety.

"We take this issue of taxi drivers continuing to operate under expired licences very seriously and believe that the severity of the sentence passed reflects the court’s view on the matter.

“We will continue to work closely with local taxi companies to ensure that the public have access to safe, regulated and insured transport.

“We would emphasise that the vast majority of taxi companies operate within local and national rules and the rare examples of unlicensed vehicles undermine their hard work and diligence.

"This is why we take such action against unregulated taxis and would urge members of the public not to take a lift from unlicensed taxis.”