One driver has been given a suspended prison sentence and two more have been fined for falsifying driver hours records at a Tuffnells parcel depot in Devon.

At Exeter Crown Court, Arkadiusz Jerzy Baranowski was given a suspended eight-month prison sentence and ordered to pay £2,000 in costs after admitting 15 offences of falsifying driver records of hours kept and one of failing to keep a proper record.

Baranowski appeared in court following an investigation by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA).

DVSA officers had received information that drivers were breaching drivers’ regulations at Tuffnells Parcels Express in Cullompton, Devon.

The investigation ended in the prosecution of Baranowski and two other drivers who pleaded guilty at their hearing.

Graham Andrews was fined £253 and ordered to pay costs of £250 for one offence of keeping false records of hours kept. Gary James Edginton was fined £440 and ordered to pay costs of £550 for four offences of keeping false records of hours kept.

DVSA head of counter fraud and investigations, Andy Rice, said: "DVSA's enforcement work is vital in protecting the public from unsafe drivers and vehicles and will continue to be a core activity for us in the future.

"These sentences send a clear message that DVSA will pursue and prosecute any drivers and operators who fail to comply with the rules governing driver records of hours kept."