A furniture delivery business owner has been disqualified from truck operation for two and a half years, after he gave control of his vehicles to two brothers who ran the vehicles in a "truly shocking" state.

David Brown, trading as David Brown Transport, also had his operator's licence revoked last month, following a public inquiry in Edinburgh on August 25.

In a written decision issued after the hearing,

Traffic commissioner for Scotland Joan Aitken said: "He had his chances in the regime when he received warnings and the hint that DVSA or the Office of the Traffic Commissioner was looking at him. He did not revert to compliant operating, but his way of working deteriorated."

"We now know the truth of the matter and that for commercial gain some time in at least 2014 and certainly, even on his own evidence by July 2014, Brown had ceded his operator's licence and the two vehicles to the Lindsay brothers. These were men who neglected the maintenance of the vehicles as is patently obvious from the state of the vehicles.

"A good compliant operator with properly maintained vehicles, parking and drivers' charts should have had the Homestyle contract , not

David Brown or the Lindsay brothers. It is right that I put him out of business and it is right that I let a compliant operator, meeting the licence undertakings, which are there for fundamental purposes of securing road safety in all our interests, get the Homestyle business."

Brown was also disqualified from acting as a transport manager in the industry indefinitely. The Traffic Commissioner added that he would have to meet rehabilitative measures before he could apply for the return of his repute and professional competence.

The orders took effect on September 4 2015.

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