A SCHOOL bus driver has been suspended after claims he did not have a valid driving licence.
The revelation was only discovered when the man applied to become a taxi driver.
Kieran Upton Ford was refused a taxi licence after police raised concerns that DVLA checks showed he had driving convictions and no UK driving licence.
It then emerged he was employed as a bus driver taking Moray children to and from school.
Police issued an objection to Moray Council’s licensing committee over Mr Upton Ford’s application for a taxi driver’s licence because of past convictions, including a disqualification for an offence involving driving while using a mobile phone – one which he adamantly denied.
Members of the committee were shocked to discover the man they had refused a taxi licence, was a school bus driver.
Councillor for Fochabers Lhanbryde Douglas Ross said: "I’m quite alarmed that someone who the DVLA believes didn’t have a licence has been driving school children around.
"We have to look at how a driver who does not hold a driving licence could be transporting kids about."
For more on this story, see this week's 'Northern Scot'
