DUMBARTON

A serial offender has been given a taxi licence despite a string of motoring convictions and jail time for carrying knives.

John Hepburn was granted his cabbies’ permit even though he has been banned from the road twice, including for being caught drunk behind the wheel.

But the 51-year-old persuaded a licensing committee he should be allowed to take members of the public in his car.

Council leaders heard the dad had been locked-up for four months after being caught with two blades and had also been convicted of driving without a licence or insurance.

Hepburn, of Alexandria, near Dumbarton, defended his right to work as a taxi driver, claiming his life of crime was in the past.
He said he had armed himself with two knives after hearing his younger brother Roy, 27, had been killed by a local man armed with a samurai sword in the neighbouring town of Bonhill.
David Crawford, 40, was later jailed for life after pleading guilty to the murder.

Hepburn said: “The offences were a long time ago and I’ve moved on.

“I just want to make a new life for myself, my wife and family.

“I knew with my previous convictions that it would be difficult.

“I’m a lot older and wiser now and realise how stupid these things were at the time. Some of my children have medical problems, so I want to help them.

”When I was caught with the knives, I’d just been told that my brother had been murdered and I handed them to the police after I had heard that someone was in custody.”

Councillors were read his list of convictions which included one for driving in Alexandria without a licence and insurance in March 2003. He was given a £100 fine.

The following year, he was jailed for being in possession of the black hunting knife and kitchen knife.

In January 2005, Hepburn was fined £350 and banned from the road for driving under the influence of alcohol.

On a separate occasion, he was fined £400 after he damaged a parked car near his home before driving off.

When he was tracked down by police, they found he was banned from driving and uninsured.

In March 2007, Hepburn was fined £335 and again disqualified for driving with no insurance.

And in March 2016, he was fined £100 for driving with a provisional licence without supervision.

Daily Record
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A man from Lincoln has told of his fear after he was left by a taxi driver at a closed pub in the pouring rain when his bank card was declined.

Ben Cheney, who only has three per cent vision across both eyes, decided to head to the Birdcage Pub in Baggholme Road on December 7, where he is a regular.

A member of the bar staff arranged for him to get a taxi home with Direct Cars, which was booked to arrive at the pub for 12.45am to take him back to his home in Norfolk Street.

But another customer actually ended up taking the ride and the 22-year-old ended up climbing into that person’s taxi, which arrived 15 minutes later.

Direct Cars discovered Ben was in the taxi and when his name was run through the firm’s system, he appeared on a “white list”.
Bosses say he was on this list for failing to pay taxi fares in the past – something Ben denies.

https://www.lincolnshirelive.co.uk