Nottinghamshire Police is warning that driving a taxi or private hire vehicle without the right licence means prosecution, a fine and points — after a red-light ticket exposed an unlicensed driver in an Ipswich-plated cab.
Ionel-Adrian Sandu, 35, of Wherstead Road, Ipswich, was tried in his absence at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court on 17 September 2026 and found guilty of driving a private hire vehicle without a licence, driving without insurance, and failing to comply with a red-light signal.
He was fined £660, ordered to pay £200 costs and a £264 surcharge, and given six penalty points. That is a £1,124 court bill in total.
How he was caught
On the afternoon of Sunday 12 April 2026, the vehicle was driven through a red light on the A6005 Nottingham Road in Chilwell, Broxtowe.
A Notice of Intended Prosecution went to the registered keeper. The vehicle was licensed by Ipswich Borough Council. After the keeper named someone else as the driver, checks with the council showed that nominated driver was not licensed.
Public court listings record the same three charges (case 31NT0406826), including driving a PHV without a licence outside London.
Police said it remains unclear whether a passenger was on board at the time. The offence of driving a licensed private hire vehicle without a driver’s licence still stands either way.
Why the insurance charge follows
PC Jon Dye, of the Nottinghamshire Safety Camera Partnership, said driving a taxi or other private hire vehicle without a valid licence “is a criminal offence that will always lead to prosecution”. Extra licensing rules exist “to keep paying passengers safe from harm”.
Without a matching driver licence, third-party cover for hire-and-reward work typically falls away. That is why unlicensed PHV driving and no-insurance charges so often travel together.
Ipswich’s own policy is the same triangle used across England: a private hire vehicle must be driven by a driver licensed by the same authority that licensed the vehicle and the operator. Putting an unlicensed person behind the wheel of a plated car is a breach for the driver — and the legal operator can face extra sanctions from the licensing authority. Police say that may now follow here.
Why it matters for the trade
This was not a street touting job in Nottingham city centre. It started as a camera offence on a Broxtowe A-road and ended with an Ipswich-licensed vehicle, an unlicensed Suffolk driver and a Notts court.
For operators: know who is actually driving your plated cars, including cover drivers and anyone named after a NIP. For licensed drivers: an unlicensed extra in the same livery undercuts the badge, the insurance and the public’s trust. For passengers: a roof sign or plate is not enough if the person at the wheel has no licence.