Uninsured taxi driver fined

An uninsured taxi driver from Norden has been fined £400, given six points on his driving licence and ordered to pay £500 costs.

Parvez Akhtar, aged 44, of Shelfield Lane, Norden, Rochdale, was found guilty of illegally plying for hire and having no insurance. He was prosecuted by Manchester City Council earlier this month.

It is illegal for private hire drivers to pick up passengers who flag them down in the street, and doing so automatically means they have no insurance.

City Council officers became suspicious after noticing Akhtar’s private hire car did not have the proper markings, designed to allow members of the public to recognise it as a licensed vehicle, during an operation in March.

The officers stopped the car and noticed there were passengers in the back, but although Akhtar told the officers they had pre-booked, the passengers themselves said this was not true.

The officers investigated and found no evidence that a journey had been pre-booked, but although Akhtar claimed this was because the taxi company he worked for had made a mistake, representatives of this company appeared in court and disproved this claim.

Councillor Nigel Murphy, Manchester City Council's executive member for the environment, said: "Hundreds of thousands of people will enjoy nights out in the city centre over the next few weeks. I'd like to wish them all a happy Christmas but remind them to think about getting home safely - either by pre-booking a private hire cab or by using one of our taxi ranks that are staffed by marshals.

"I'd also like to warn any irresponsible drivers who operate without any concern for the safety of their passengers that both our officers and the police will be out and about during the Christmas period looking for them."