A CLAMP down is underway on taxi drivers who break the rules set by Worcester City Council.

But the prosecutions for offences such as cabbies not wearing their driver's badge have been criticised as "nit-picking" by the chairman of Worcester Taxi Owners' Association.

Worcester City Council has successfully prosecuted six taxi drivers at Worcester Magistrates' Court in recent weeks.

The offences included driving a taxi without a current private hire vehicle licence, leaving a cab unattended and failing to wear a driver's badge.

These offences break the rules set by the council allowing taxi drivers to operate.

A total of £470 in fines and £345 in costs were handed out by magistrates.

"As a licensing authority, ours is a clear duty to ensure that not only vehicles, but also their drivers, meet the required standards," said the council's senior licensing officer, Julian Pugh.

Breaches

"The public has the right to know that where breaches of recognised standards and codes of conduct occur, we will meet that duty by taking whatever measures are required.

"The rules are there for a reason and they are not exactly onerous.

They prove to the public that both the person driving and the vehicle are safe.

"If they follow the regulations they are not going to run the risk of being prosecuted."

But Ziafat Hussain, chairman of the Worcester Taxi Owners' Association, said this rule breaking was often an honest mistake, such as forgetting to put on a badge.

He added that taxi drivers had a badge that they wore on their clothes and a second inside the car which is more visible to the passenger.

"Because we are out there providing a public service I am the first one for public safety," he said.

"But forgetting to put a badge on your shirt is hardly the end of the world.

"A lot of this seems like nit-picking."