Man pleads guilty to trespassing at Heathrow
A 37 year old man appeared in Uxbridge Magistrates Court today after breaching an agreement with Heathrow which stated that he was not allowed on the premises. Patrick Gross from Hayes, was accused of taxi touting last year at Heathrow which was what resulted in his ban from the airport.
Taxi touting is a criminal offence where unlicensed vehicles display the word “taxi”, “cab” or “hire” or try to solicit people in a public place to hire vehicles to carry them as passengers.
A Black taxi driver claimed to have seen the defendant on the 3rd January in the car park of terminal 4 even though he was prohibited from doing so. He was then seen again entering Heathrow on the 4th January.
Mr Gross claimed to have not been given notice about his ban from the airport but this was soon disputed as it was revealed that he had already been fined on 4 different incidents resulting in over £742 in fines.
The defendant pled guilty to entering Heathrow on the two occasions but also insisted that it was his brother that was seen at Heathrow by the taxi driver as he claimed that the two look alike.
He was sentenced to pay fines of £250, £25 victim service charge and £85 in court fees.
He had just started a new role in January where he is still awaiting a pay check and is already paying back previous fines on a monthly basis.