A taxi driver has been fined more than £1,000 for offering to pick up passengers illegally at Reading Festival in a sting operation.
A private hire taxi driver licensed by Transport for London (TfL) was caught offering to take passengers from Tessa Road near Reading Festival to Slough train station.
But the would-be passengers were actually council licensing officers.
Hammad Ashraf Khan Manj of Railway Terrace, Slough, offered to take the undercover officers for £35.
The incident occurred on Friday, August 23 last year, the first main day of Reading Festival, which saw acts such as Blink-182, The Prodigy, Jorja Smith and Neck Deep perform.
Mr Manj had a licence from TfL which only allowed him to accept pre-booked fares within the London area.
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Not only did he operate in Reading unlawfully, but he also offered to take the licensing officers to Slough station on the spot which private hire drivers are not allowed to do.
Despite initially denying any wrongdoing while being interviewed under caution, Mr Manj pleaded guilty to the offence of Plying for Hire at Reading Magistrates Court on Friday, February 7.
Mr Manj was fined £576 for the offence and was additionally handed prosecution costs of £800, and a victim surcharge of £230, bringing the full financial penalties to £1,603.
The prosecution was achieved following an operation by licensing officers from Reading Borough Council, South Oxfordshire District Council and Fareham Borough Council.
John Ennis (Labour, Southcote), lead councillor for climate strategy and transport at Reading Borough Council said: “This is a positive result thanks to the joint efforts of Reading Licensing officers in partnership with our colleagues in Fareham and South Oxfordshire.
“Partnership working like this is more important than ever to uphold the high standards expected of Private Hire drivers and to ensure the safety of our travelling public.
“Reading proudly welcomes over 100,000 visitors during the festival weekend, and their safety remains a top priority.
“I’d like to sincerely thank the officers from Fareham and South Oxfordshire for their assistance with this prosecution.”
'Plying for Hire' describes picking up passengers on the spot.
Only drivers with hackney carriage licences are allowed to ply for hire. Those without do this without a licence commit a criminal offence.
The maximum fine that can be applied is £2,500.
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Private hire drivers also require a licence. Rules dictate that these journeys must be booked in advance.
Licensed private hire drivers of good standing in Reading are encouraged to join the Reading Private Hire Association.
You can find out more by emailing readingprivatehireassociation@gmail.com.
Applications to become a taxi driver are processed by Reading Borough Council's licensing department.
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