Taxi firms in the district are backing a major police purge on rogue cabbies over the festive period.

Five taxi drivers in the Worth Valley have had their licences suspended as part of the joint operation by West Yorkshire Police and Bradford Council.

And rogue cabbies across the district are being warned that authorities will be targeting other areas soon.

In the initial operation, spearheaded by Bingley and Worth Neighbouring Policing Team, a number of taxis were found to have mechanical defects and did not comply with licensing regulations.

The operation has been mounted ahead of the Christmas period, which sees an increase in demand for cabs.

Pervez Naik who runs Oxford Taxis in Keighley said: “I’m absolutely behind this kind of clamp down because there are a lot of rogue cabbies about. They are putting members of the public at risk because the taxis are possibly not safe and putting legitimate firms like ours at a huge disadvantage.”

Director of Metro Taxis in Keighley, Stuart Hastings wants to see more frequent action by the police throughout the year. “There are some people driving taxis that shouldn’t be allowed and some vehicles not fit to be on the road,” he said.

The company has a fleet of 80 private hire taxi and tough action is taken against anyone involved in illegal activity, he added.

PC Eddie Irving of the Bingley and Worth NPT, said: “Suspending a vehicle from operating is not something we take lightly as we appreciate it is a person’s livelihood.

“However, people expect taxis to be a safe means of transport and operations like this prove this isn’t always the case. People should check that the vehicle and or driver are licensed and only ever use a reputable company that they know and trust.”

Police are urging all revellers over the Christmas period to make sure they only use private hire taxis from firms they know and not to take chances by jumping into strange cars.

Police also conducted a number of checks on private cars in Bingley over the weekend, with two cars being seized for having no insurance and another six drivers given fixed penalty notices for failing to wear seatbelts.