TEENAGERs from Chippenham heading for their leavers' prom at Grittleton House in luxury limousines were stopped close to the gates by police and vehicle examiners carrying out a check on the cars.

Inspectors from the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) wanted to make sure car hire bosses ferrying pupils from Sheldon and Hardenhuish schools had all the correct documentation but a number of the limos stopped in checks in May last year lacked the correct insurances and licences, a court heard.

One group of youngsters was travelling in a limo from A1 Cokey Limousines in Bristol. Owner Byron Coke, 41, and limo driver Jeremy Screen, 36, appeared at Swindon Crown Court to appeal against fines and bans imposed by Chippenham magistrates earlier this year.

Sophie Eloquin, prosecuting, said the car did not have the correct documentation, making the insurance invalid.

At the earlier hearings Coke had been fined £5,000 and Screen £1,500. Both were disqualified from driving for a year.

Both men were convicted in their absence and they told the court they had not been aware of the hearings before magistrates.

Martin Lanchester, for Coke, said the rules regarding limos were complicated and his client had inadvertently broken the law. He said Coke paid £14,000 a year to insure his two vehicles so it wasn't as though he had ignored his responsibility.

Mr Lanchester said: "The inspectors turned up on prom night knowing there were going to be a number of limos and booked all of them."

Allowing the appeal Judge Tom Longbotham sitting with two magistrates cut Coke's fine to £3,000 and replaced the ban with eight points and Screen's to £500 and six points.

Action an assurance to parents

After winning an appeal against fines, limousine owner Byron Coke said he was furious about the whole affair because he had phoned VOSA to ask about regulations and thought he was properly covered by the £14,000 insurance he had paid.

"All I want to do is run a business, I wasn't trying to duck out of anything," he said.

"I thought I'd done all my homework."

Sheldon School headteacher Gerard MacMahon said the proms event was so big, youngsters ended up booking limos months in advance and from as far afield as Bristol and South Wales and while bookings were made in good faith it was difficult to tell if a limo company had all the right documentation.

"It is a constant concern for us, because it is difficult for parents to know," he said.

"I'm pleased the companies know they could be checked out."

A spokesman for the VOSA said they couldn't give specific details about the checks they carried out but no limos had been stopped in Wiltshire in the last few weeks.

Wayne Howells, assistant headteacher at Hardenhuish School, in Chippenham, said limo drivers were stopped and asked for paperwork at their Year 11 prom at Grittleton House last year.

"Until now we didn't know the outcome of this," he said.

"Our prom is at the same venue this year and presumably parents can be reassured by last year's action."