21 May Clacton taxi driver has licence suspended by magistrates after abusing council staff
A Clacton cabbie has had his taxi licence suspended for six weeks after abusing council staff.
John Hall, of Edgware Road, Clacton, had his licence suspended by a panel from Tendring District Council’s Licensing Committee in November.
The panel then heard how Hall, 57, had acted aggressively towards Tendring District Council (TDC) staff on four occasions, including being abusive on the phone and being intimidating to employees at their office.
Councillors had found the driver had breached licence conditions which state taxi drivers must behave in “in a civil and orderly manner”.
Hall appealed against the decision, and the case was heard before Colchester Magistrates’ Court last week (Thursday, May 16).
Magistrates’ upheld the Licensing Committee suspension, and described TDC staff as “clear, concise and credible”.
The bench reduced the length of the suspension to six weeks, and ordered Hall to pay £1,500 in costs.
Hall now has 21 days within which to appeal to the Crown Court. If no appeal is made then the six week suspension will begin.
Speaking after the hearing Karen Townshend, TDC’s Licensing Manager, said such behaviour would not be tolerated.
“We try to build a positive relationship with taxi drivers in our district, but we will not sit back and take abusive or aggressive behaviour while carrying out our work,” Ms Townshend said.
“This includes referring cases to our Licensing Committee and defending them in court where necessary.
“Only by doing this can we uphold the highest standards of our taxi drivers, and therefore make sure people in Tendring get the top-quality taxi service they deserve.”
