A company director has been banned indefinitely from operating lorries after his company's "appalling" safety record came to light.

In fact, it was said at an inquiry that lorries used by E& D Haulage Ltd of Ryarsh posed a significant danger on the roads.

The region's traffic commissioner said Philip Kelly's case was "one of the worst... of non-compliance" he had ever seen.

In one instance, a lorry belonging to E&D Haulage was issued with a safety critical prohibition, after an examiner found a cable on the anti-lock braking system had been disconnected.

Following a public inquiry, Kelly, a company director, was told he would not be able to hold or apply for an operator's licence in England, Scotland or Wales.

Traffic Commissioner, Nicholas Denton, heard that in a seven-month period vehicles and trailers operated by the firm were issued with 18 prohibition notices after inspectors found them to be defective.

During the same time, six fixed penalty notices were issued, including for a vehicle with a defective braking system.

The company was also not employing a transport manager, which is a requirement of its licence.

The matters came to light after an inspector from the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) tried to visit the company’s authorised operating base on Salomons Way in Rainham earlier this year.

But the site's owner said E&D Haulage Ltd hadn't used the site for two years.

Director Philip Kelly later confirmed to the Traffic Commissioner’s Office he had moved his vehicles and trailers to another site, in Ryarsh Park, Ryarsh.

The inquiry heard one fixed penalty was issued after a driver failed to produce his tachographs, which record his duties. Another was issued for a vehicle with a dangerous load.

Issuing written directions, the Traffic Commissioner said there were no positive factors to weigh on his findings.

He noted that the “horrifying prohibition record and mendacious conduct of the operator” meant that it was extremely unlikely it would be compliant with operator licensing requirements in future.

Mr Denton added that the inquiry had presented one of the worst cases of non-compliance he had seen.