Since 1990 I have been employed as an Automotive Engineer Assessor, Forensic Vehicle Examiner and Expert Witness and currently serve as an independent forensic vehicle examiner for the Police, Trading Standards Officers for four local authorities, insurance, legal and other Clients. 

By trade, I served a fully indentured apprenticeship to become a fully qualified light and heavy motor vehicle mechanic with distinction to technician level.

Following an education in the grammar stream of a bilateral comprehensive school, I spent the first two years of a fully indentured apprenticeship in the “test-house” of a motor manufacturer’s main dealership which was a replica of a commercial vehicle MOT Testing Station with some additional equipment such as dynamometer power-testing & tuning equipment. 

During those two years I underwent comprehensive training in the inspection of all kinds of vehicles, workshop quality control, pre MOT examinations and fault diagnosis which proved to be a good, sound start to a career which has led me to where I am now with expertise in the examination and testing of all kinds of vehicles for a whole range of purposes.

After completion of that 5 year long apprenticeship I attended various other training courses and continue to do so under a program of Continued Professional Development relating to technical, mechanical, electronic & electric systems and collision investigation.

I attained a qualification in transport management – Certificate of Professional Competence (National Freight) – a course I later went on to lecture at a local technical college.

Following two years’ study in motor trade management my work as an Automotive Engineer Assessor, Forensic Vehicle Examiner and Expert Witness began for Banwells in 1990 at a time when Expert and damage assessors’ work was examined and tested by peer review and audited particularly by Clients’ own experts.  

I attended and successfully completed the full study course for entry into the learned Institute of Automotive Engineer Assessors which included their collision investigation module.

In 1999 I became co-owner of Banwells and sole owned the business in 2008 during which time before its sale in June 2010 developed the business to become one of the premier firms of Automotive Engineer Assessors, Forensic Vehicle Examiners and Expert Witnesses with 25 staff offering a range of services from the standard AD (accident damage) inspections through to the more specialist fire, mechanical & electrical failure analyses, forensic collision investigation, studies into collision damage consistency & compatibility.

I am qualified to Level 3 & 4 EV Technician standard, listed as an IMI Techsafe EV technician and qualified to work on EV vehicles and their high voltage systems including inside high voltage batteries.

I am widely experienced in valuing vehicles of all kinds and the forensic determination of their condition and its effect on roadworthiness, valuation & accident causation.

Since the sale of Banwells and a three year handover period, in February 2013 I have worked in my own consultancy.

My professional qualifications include registration as an Engineering Technician with the Engineering Council through the Institute of Road Transport Engineers of which I am a full member.  I am a full corporate member of the Institute of Automotive Engineer Assessors, a member of the Federation Internationale des Experts on Automobiles, a full Member of The Institute of the Motor Industry with which I am also registered as an Advanced Automotive Engineer, a full Member of the Society of Operations Engineers, a Member of the Institute of Advanced Motorists and a Member of the Association of British Investigators which works in partnership with the Law Society to support the Law Society and its members.

I am “Checked” by the legal profession as a member of the UK Register of Expert Witnesses.

I have full clean car, advanced car, HGV Class1 and full PCV driving licenses and so am able to road test almost any vehicle I am likely to examine.

I am consulted as an Expert in matters of plant, agricultural and road vehicles by organisations which include Insurers, fleet & private vehicle owners, private and public utilities, the Road Haulage Association, the legal profession, vehicle lease and hire organisations and have also have worked on Trading Standards projects, stings & prosecutions and have been involved in high profile work for the national press, motoring & consumer press and BBC’s Watchdog and Rogue Traders on which I have appeared numerous times over a 12 year period resulting in many Safety Recalls and successes for other consumers and consumer groups.

I regularly attend crash testing with the Institute of Traffic Accident Investigators and am widely experienced in the inspection of vehicles returned to hirers and financiers at the end of periods of lease, hire or finance and the application of Fair Wear & Tear guidelines.

I am trained, certified and licensed as a collision data Technician and Analyst of collision data downloaded from vehicles.