Appearing at the County Court in Derby, Swadlincote-based The Buckley Bakehouse was ordered to pay £4,654.71 in costs for using bread baskets belonging to Bakers Basco without its consent.
Deputy district judge Maybury told director Daniel Buckley that the consequences of failing to keep his “solemn promise” to the Court could include being fined, having assets seized and a possible prison sentence.
The Buckley Bakehouse has already made payments totalling £3,300 in damages for the previous occasions it took Bakers Basco’s property without permission.
‘Little better than theft’
Bakers Basco general manager Steve Millward said that people using its equipment without permission was “little better than theft, in our eyes”.
“Often they end up dumping the baskets, to the detriment of the environment,” added Millward. “When necessary, as in this case, we will take legal action stopping people from using and abusing our baskets and other items.
“When people divert them [bread baskets] for their own use, it has a knock-on effect on bakers, retailers and, at the end of the day, shoppers, all of whom end up footing the bill for the selfish actions of a small minority.”
4M bread baskets
Bakers Brasco manages and licenses a pool of 4M bread baskets and associated wheeled trolleys for the use of bakers across the country. Around 25 bakeries – including Allied Bakeries, Hovis and Warburtons – pay a licence fee to use the equipment.
The company has added global positioning system (GPS) tracking technology to its bread baskets in an attempt to combat their theft and abuse, allowing the company to track the movements of its equipment more effectively.
Meanwhile, a Wolverhampton-based sandwich maker has been hit with a £7,000 fine after GPS technology showed it had been using bread baskets belonging to another firm without permission.