Taxi drivers in Wigan are furious after it emerged the mayor is being ferried around in a private hire vehicle licensed near Blackpool.

Cabbies from the town say it sends out completely the wrong impression for the first citizen’s car to have a badge in the front windscreen with Wyre Council’s name on it.

They are also unhappy that £20,000 is being paid out each year by the town hall for a company to provide the car and its drivers for the mayor’s attendance at functions.

The local authority said the arrangement is cost effective and was put in place following a tendering process.

But that has failed to placate the hackney carriage drivers who have a long list of questions about how the situation arose.

Anger rose in the black cab community after a large black Volvo saloon with the distinctive number plate AEK1 was spotted bearing the badge at the Leigh Sports Village (LSV).

Eddie Earley, a hackney carriage driver and former local RMT union rep, said: “I think it is totally unacceptable. The lads have been talking about it and they think it is disgraceful too.

“I was unaware it had been put out to tender and I cannot understand why it is being run like this.

“The council can come out with stuff about it being cost effective all it wants but there’s a private hire badge on the front windscreen and our crest on the front of the car. It doesn’t look right.

“I would like to know who tendered for this job and if the council asked Wigan firms if they wanted to take it on.

“If the council has sold its vehicle and that car doesn’t belong to them then it shouldn’t have the mayor’s crest on it.

“At the very least it should be executive travel with the badge being carried in the boot.

“This has caused a lot of ill-feeling among the lads. They think it just seems wrong.”

https://goo.gl/7ASwEx
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 ROMNEY MARSH

 A video showing a taxi driver running from his car seconds after arsonists set fire to it on a petrol station forecourt has been released.

The driver had collected Warren Hearne and Danny Frost from the Romney Marsh exactly a year ago on December 15 last year.

They had called the cab following a night out in the area and asked him to stop at a nearby petrol station, the BP Garage in Seabrook Road, Hythe, to pick up more beer.

The car pulled into the garage at around 11pm - but neither passengers went into the shop for their alcohol.

Instead Hearne, 36, opened the back door of the taxi and started acting suspiciously.

The incident was captured on CCTV, which showed Hearne loitering outside the taxi before stumbling into a petrol pump.

He then took the pump and pointed it into the back seat of the car.

A small amount of petrol was poured onto the seats before the driver realised what was happening and got out of the car.

Moments later the seat was ablaze and both Hearne and Frost, 27, ran off.

It took a matter of minutes for the flames to spread across the vehicle.

The video shows the driver returning to his car briefly to grab his belongings before he too fled.

The fire service was called to service station, which is between Folkestone and Hythe, and the forecourt and the road was shut while the flames were extinguished.

 Hearne from Dymchurch Road in Hythe and Frost from Hever Gardens in Ashford were identified from the CCTV footage and arrested soon after the incident.

They both pleaded guilty to arson that was reckless and were sentenced at Canterbury Crown Court on today (Friday, December 14).

Herne received six years and four months in prison. Frost was sentenced to five years and seven months.

Investigating officer Det Cons Kay Brown said: "This was an extremely dangerous thing to do, which could have caused significant harm to anyone nearby at the time. Luckily the driver escaped the incident without injury but his vehicle, which is his livelihood, was destroyed in the fire.

https://goo.gl/qQ3979

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 WAKEFIELD

Millions of pounds could be paid out to taxi drivers after a ‘landmark’ court ruling found Wakefield Council has been overcharging for licensing fees for years.

The High Court in Leeds found that the amount of money the council had demanded from drivers were unlawful, and now face a massive bill to reimburse them all, backdated to 2004.

The judicial review was brought by the Wakefield District Private Hire and Hackney Association after the council hiked up the cost of a licensing badge this year by 60 per cent to £384.

Wajid Ali, co-chairman of the association, says the ruling could now have a knock-on affect across the country.

He said: “This is a landmark judgement and the other 383 authorities across the country will be looking at this.

“Whilst we understand why the council wanted this matter to be decided by the court, as it helps to clarify the law, we very much hope the council will now engage with us in the hope that further court proceedings can be avoided.

“We are only asking the council to refund money it was never entitled to charge in the first place. All those past and current members of the association who have been overcharged should be repaid.”

His Honour Judge Saffman, sitting as a deputy judge of the High Court in Leeds, said Wakefield Council had misinterpreted the wording of Local Government Act of 1976.

He also refused Wakefield Council permission to appeal, but the council can make an application to the Court of Appeal.

While the refunded payment would be in excess of £1 million, if the council is unsuccessful in an appeal, the Express understands the figure could be much more.

Liz Ogden, interim city solicitor at Wakefield Council confirmed they were seeking permission to appeal the court decision, adding: “The High Court has ordered that new taxi licence fees are set by March 5 2019.

“We will continue to issue taxi licences, although until the new fees have been set, we cannot charge vehicle fees.

“Once the fees have been re-set, the appropriate fee for vehicle licences and inspections will be due and payable by vehicle owners.”

https://goo.gl/jRsc6d