AN AWARD-winning sausage maker has been allowed to remain in the driving seat following an insurance mix-up – because of the effect a driving ban would have on his business.

Stephen Geoffrey Muff, 62, runs Muffs Sausages at Bromborough, Wirral, and told a court he started work at 4am to buy in quality produce from Liverpool Market.

If he was unable to continue driving, then it would affect the company turnover and he would have to look at laying off staff, he said.

Muff, 62, of Ffordd Las at Sychdyn, near Mold, admitted that on October 2 last year at Alltami near Mold, he drove a Transit van without insurance – his second such conviction.

Flintshire Magistrates Court was told his son ran the administration side of the business and it was wrongly believed the insurance company would have automatically renewed the policy.

Magistrates told him that it was his responsibility to ensure that any vehicle he drove was insured but they accepted that a ban would cause exceptional hardship to his staff, would have a financial impact on the business and also on the elderly members of the community to whom he made deliveries.

A total of six penalty points were imposed on his licence – bringing the total to 12 – and he was warned that he would have to be exceptionally careful in future.

He was also fined £400 with £85 costs and a £40 surcharge.

Solicitor Dafydd Roberts, defending, told the Mold court a driving ban would have a major financial impact on the company.

In evidence, Muff said the company made sausages and sold them wholesale to pubs, hotels, garden centres and other outlets.

They employed a butcher and sausage maker and an apprentice butcher who did not drive.

He said that they had also taken on seven part-time staff – two of whom drove – but they had children and it would not be fair to ask them to drive him in the early hours of the morning.

Muff told how they had taken more staff on because they were so busy, had moved into bigger premises and while turnover had increased profit was slightly down because of the investment they had made.

“Every single penny goes into the business,” he said.

If he lost his driving licence it would not be possible for him to go to the markets early to buy good quality produce needed for the sausages.

The way he and his son ran the business meant they did all the work themselves.

If he was unable to pick up stock and make deliveries, then they would lose orders.

When customers ran out they placed an order and expected it to be delivered that day.

“If they want 40 kilogrammes of sausages, then they get them by lunchtime,” he said.

They could not compete with supermarkets on price but did so with quality and the service they provided.

If turnover dropped then they would have to look at staffing levels.

“I would unfortunately have to let some people go . It would not be a nice thing to do but it would be either that or lose the business,” he said.

(*) The company website says it is are most famous for award-winning sausages.

Stephen Muff won his first competition in 1993 at the Cheshire Show and had not looked back since.

Since then he has won pretty much every major award including Champion of Champions and A Great Taste Award.