Fake HGV licences for sale on web

The fake driving licence was obtained by BBC reporter Colin Campbell

The DVLA has expressed concern that unqualified lorry drivers could be on the UK's roads using fake HGV licences.

Following a tip-off from lorry drivers in Kent, a BBC South East Today investigation found fake licences being sold for £250 on the internet.

Reporter Colin Campbell bought a fake licence from a website which described it as a "novelty" but which guaranteed it looked like the real thing.

The DVLA said internet criminality was very difficult to combat.

The licence obtained by the BBC, which was delivered within 24 hours of being ordered, came complete with a paper counterpart for an extra £100.

The pink card had a hologram, picture and signature and the site allowed the purchaser to include details such as an address and date of birth of their choice.

Mike Rudd, operations director at haulier Seymour Transport, in Maidstone, was concerned at how realistic the fake licence was.

"Potentially, you could get a job with that," he said.

Truckers in Kent tipped off the BBC to the website

"The great concern, with those in existence, is that there are unlicensed drivers with 44 tonnes of truck behind them potentially causing carnage."

Obtaining an HGV licence legally takes at least 20 hours' training and involves a theory test, a practical driving test and a medical.

HGV instructor Gerry Freeman, from Sittingbourne, said he was amazed it was possible to buy a fake licence.

"It is a worry, because the chances are people will use them without qualifications," he said.

"To actually operate and drive a beast of a vehicle weighing up to 44 tonnes without having passed a driving test would be horrifying."

It is not known how many of the fake licences are in circulation or being used.

But the website which sold the licence to the BBC said in an email it had a "very heavy workload".

HGV instructor Gerry Freeman said he was "amazed" by the fake

A spokesman for vehicle inspectorate, the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA), said it was difficult to tell fake licences from real ones.

"Some of these fakes are identical visually to genuine ones," said inspector Darren Webb.

"It is very difficult at the roadside, without access to a database, to find evidence that they are forgeries."

The DVLA said websites which sold fake licences were committing an offence. Using a fake licence was also an offence, with a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment.

"DVLA takes the integrity of the driving licence system very seriously and are concerned that drivers might be able to obtain a counterfeit driving licence without having to demonstrate competence to drive," a spokeswoman said.

"The police service is the only organisation within the UK with the skills and resources to identify and take action against those behind such websites."

It said it had passed on details of the website used by the BBC to the proper authorities, including the police, to allow any appropriate action to be taken.