In a written decision, Traffic Commissioner (TC) Nicholas Denton has suspended the operators licence of Guru Travel of Birmingham for a period of 16 days following three incidents involving alcohol and cannabis being consumed on board coaches travelling to football matches.
The first incident occurred on 29 January 2019, when PC Dacre of Merseyside Police, and attached to Everton FC, boarded the company’s vehicle whilst it was carrying fans to Huddersfield, whereupon he discovered s strong smell of cannabis and numerous full and empty beer bottles. A similar incident occurred at an away match at Wembley FC on 9 February, when passengers from the coach were involved in a post-match affray. PC Dacre boarded the coach and was again confronted by beer bottles and the smell of cannabis. On both occasions, minors were present. The same officer reported a third incident on the 26 February, where 15 cases of lager along with nitrous oxide N20 and cannabis were found stowed in the luggage lockers. Mr Rahal initially stated that the coaches had returned clean from the trips, and that he had not been aware of the smoking and drinking. He suggested that the drivers may have turned a blind eye in return for a tip, something with which the TC agreed, it being unlikely that the driver would have been unaware of smoking and drinking on board or what was in the lockers, but the TC did not believe that Mr Rahal could have been completely unaware of the problems. The suspension will run from 0001hrs on 5 October 2019 to 0001hrs on 21 October 2019. The company has retained its repute, and has agreed to an undertaking that football groups will no longer be carried under its licence.
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