A taxi driver has been fined hundreds of pounds after he failed to stop after a crash in Canvey.

Magistrates at Basildon were told that Brian Saunders, 57, drove off after a crash at Eastern Esplanade on April 12 2014.

A witness made a note of Saunders’ car registration number and reported the matter to police.

Officers from the Essex Police Casualty Reduction Unit’s investigations team established that Saunders, a taxi driver, was the registered keeper of the car and sent enquiry notices to his home in Romford.

He claimed that he was no longer the keeper of the car and said it had been sold to a taxi firm in Havering.

When the firm failed to respond to official notices from police, officers made further enquiries. They eventually went to the taxi company’s offices where managers denied that Saunders worked for the firm. But officers noticed Saunders’ hire licence framed and hanging on the office wall.

Further notices were sent to Saunders requested him to complete the forms within 28 days but he failed to do so.

Saunders, of Straight Road, Harold Hill, failed to attend court on Thursday September 10 but magistrates decided to hear the case in his absence.

He was fined £775 for failing to respond to legal notices and was ordered to pay court costs of £600 and a victim surcharge of £60. He was also given six penalty points on his driving licence.

Adam Pipe, Essex Police’s Casualty Reduction Manager, said: "This is another example of a driver who believed he could flout the law by driving away from a road collision without exchanging details and failing to respond to police enquiries and a court summons.

"Too many people think they can get away with these crimes but Essex Police and the courts will always react robustly to ensure they are brought to justice and will be dealt with accordingly by magistrates.”