A HIGHLY-REGARDED Selby area coal merchant has been fined £1,500 after he admitted delivering sacks of solid fuel which were short in weight.

At the town's magistrates' court, Keith Gell, 49, of Hillam Road, Gateforth, admitted three offences under the 1985 weights and measures act.

The court was told that a bag of solid-fuel trebles weighed 46.8 kilograms, a bag of solid-fuel doubles 45.6kg, and a bag of Coalite 45.8kg - when all of them should have weighed 50 kilograms, as advertised.

North Yorkshire County Council trading standards officer, David Titchener, said a weights and measures inspector saw a white pick-up entering Brayton on December 5.

Two bags of fuel were delivered and the inspector approached the two men, one of whom was the defendant.

The two bags - orders from Gell's customers - were checked, and were short of the required weight of 50kg.

Mr Titchener said the weighing machine was found to be satisfactory, and Gell was unable to give any explanation why the bags were deficient.

Drummond Maxton, mitigating, said his client had been in the business since leaving school, and had been a partner since 1968, taking over from his father 14 years ago.

Mr Maxton said: "He's not a man who has gone out on spec to try to sell fuel; he is a well-established coal merchant."

Mr Maxton then handed to magistrates references from satisfied customers, who described him as hard-working and reliable with a reputation for honesty and integrity.

On this occasion, his client could not give any clear explanation as to why the bags were light.

It was very much a "one-off", although he accepted full responsibility for this unfortunate circumstance.

He said the discrepancies in weight were such that there was no systematic criminal process of short-weighing customers.

The defendant had the weighing equipment tested and the calibration was found to be slightly light, so Gell had now bought a new set of weights.

Gell was also ordered to pay £170 prosecution costs.

Bench chairman Maurice Patrick told him it was a serious matter when dealing with the public if they were short-changed in any way.

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