AN ANDOVER private hire driver who refused to pick up a passenger and his guide dog has been fined hundreds of pounds.

Jacek Paluch was booked for a fare from Andover Railway Station by his employer Alpha Cars on March 18.

Paluch was expected pick up Maggie Wilde and her son, who had returned from holiday, and husband Christopher with his assistance dog – who were meeting their loved ones at the train station.

But when Paluch became aware of Mr Wilde’s dog he told the family that he did not ‘take dogs’ and was unable to drive them home.

On Tuesday, September 27, Basingstoke Magistrates’ Court heard that Mr Wilde’s dog was wearing an illuminous collar and harness – indicating he was a guide dog.

READ MORE: Andover woman caught drink driving in Basingstoke is banned

Prosecuting on behalf of Test Valley Borough Council (TVBC), Sheela Evans said the operator told Paluch he must take the canine as it was an assistance dog.

At one stage the 40-year-old also claimed that Mr Wilde was not blind.

Mrs Evans said that Mr Wilde “who relies on public transport was very upset by the incident and is now refusing to take taxis”.

The court heard that after Paluch refused to take the dog, Mrs Wilde phoned Alpha Cars to complain.

Prior to the hearing Paluch, of Tower Close, Charlton, emailed the court and pleaded guilty to the offence of being a private hire vehicle driver refusing to carry out a booking for a disabled person accompanied by an assistance dog.

Under the borough council’s licensing conditions, a driver “shall not refuse to carry a passenger with a guide dog or other assistance animal unless he/she has medical evidence of an allergy”.

In mitigation Paluch, who has been a taxi driver licensed by TVBC for around 15 years, said that on the morning before the incident he was told by his mother in Poland that his father had suffered a heart attack.

“With the benefit of hindsight, I probably shouldn’t have worked that day, but I did,” he said in a letter.

Paluch said he had not read the notes of the booking before arriving at the pick-up location, so was not aware that Mr Wilde’s dog was an assistance animal. 

SEE ALSO: Andover man, 44, more than three times legal limit banned from driving

In mitgation, Paluch said that he has since picked up the family on another call out and that he apologised to them. 

Paluch said he was instructed to pick up the family including the guide dog from a Tesco store in Andover on April 14. 

“The passengers didn’t recognise me and I could have dropped them off at their home address without identifying myself,” he wrote.

However he did tell them who he was and he “apologised profusely” to the family. He did not charge them for the later fare.

Magistrates fined Paluch £234 and ordered him to pay £200 court costs, along with a £34 victim surcharge.