TWO North Yorkshire lorry firms have been given formal warnings following investigations into vehicle safety and maintenance standards.

Public inquries were held by the Traffic Commissioner for the North East of England, Kevin Rooney, into Agrihaul Ltd and Shire Aggregates Bulk Ltd, both of which operate from Park Farm, Boroughbridge.

A spokesman for the Traffic Commissioner said an examiner from the Vehicle Operator Services Agency (VOSA) visited Agrihaul Ltd in July to inspect its HGVs and paperwork.

“The Traffic Commissioner heard that vehicles operated by the company had been issued with prohibitions, while defects reported by drivers had not been confirmed as repaired,” he said.

“The examiner also found other shortcomings in the maintenance paperwork.”

He said that after considering all the evidence, Mr Rooney told the company it would not face any regulatory action but recorded a formal warning against its licence.

The commissioner also secured a commitment from the operator that routine vehicle safety inspections would be carried out every four weeks.

He said VOSA examiners had visited Shire Aggregates in April to inspect HGVs, paperwork and the duties carried out by its drivers.

“The Traffic Commissioner heard that the reporting system used by drivers to identify defects on vehicles was not effective, including that issues were repeated for several days with no repair work recorded,” he said.

“The examiner also noted routine safety inspection paperwork was incomplete and that a number of vehicles had failed annual tests.”

He said a traffic examiner carried out an investigation into the drivers’ hours records completed by employees working at the firm, which identified offences including driving over 4.5 hours without taking the required rest. “The examiner concluded that the company did not have systems in place for checking its drivers’ work.”

He said Mr Rooney told the company it would not face any regulatory action but recorded a formal warning against its licence, and the operators gave a commitment that routine vehicle safety inspections would be carried out every four weeks.

The Press tried to contact both firms yesterday, but no one was available for comment.