Legal News

Lincolnshire Council’s Trading Standards department has prosecuted a trader who supplied worn tyres to customers.

Leandra Mckenzie of Heckington Road in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire, traded at a tyre shop in Grantham, Lincolnshire.

Following complaints from local residents, Lincolnshire Trading Standards conducted a test purchase in June 2015, where they were sold two defective, part worn tyres by Ms Mckenzie, which were not labelled correctly – and one tyre which had the internal ply exposed.

She was the second member of the McKenzie family to be found guilty of supplying unsafe part worn tyres, after her father Luke was given a nine-month suspended sentence and fined £26,000 for offences in April 2015.

At Lincoln Magistrates’ Court on 24 August, Leandra McKenzie was found guilty of two counts of not having the correct markings on a part worn tyre –and one count of supplying an unsafe tyre to a trading standards officer from her business MOSS Tyres on the Spring Gardens Industrial Estate in Grantham.

Ms McKenzie was ordered to pay fines and costs of just under £8,000.

Lincolnshire Trading Standards advises consumers that part worn tyres must
have an EC approval mark and a speed and load capacity index – and be marked with PART-WORN in upper case letters at least 4mm high.

They must also not have a cut over 25mm or 10% of the section width of the tyre – and must not have any internal or external lump, bulge or tear, nor have
any ply or cord exposed.

Part worn tyres must also not have any penetration damage that has not been repaired – and the original tread pattern of the tyre must be at least 2mm deep.

After sentencing, principal trading standards officer at Lincolnshire County Council, Andy Wright, said:

“Two things are particularly concerning here – firstly, as the tyres failed to have the correct labelling on, with no distinction whether they were part worn or not. Consumers had no idea what they were buying.

“And, secondly, there was damage to the tyre’s walls, which means that the structure of the tyre could have been compromised.

“ If used, this tyre could have had life-threatening consequences for innocent consumers and their families.

“I am shocked that, given her father’s conviction last year, Leandra has followed on and committed the same crime.

“I’m extremely concerned by this behaviour.”

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