Taxi sticker row peace bid

Private cab drivers refused to work on Saturday over the dispute

Taxi drivers will meet council officials in Wrexham on Friday in a bid to resolve a dispute which sparked a strike last weekend.

Hundreds of drivers refused to work in the town on Saturday - one of the busiest nights of the week - leaving thousands of revellers stranded without transport home.

The private cab drivers launched their protest after the local council ordered them to display stickers on their cars showing they were driving registered taxis.

But the drivers complained that the signs would damage the paintwork on their cars.

They also claimed their privacy would be affected because they also used the cars outside working hours.

There are more than 460 private hire drivers in Wrexham.

Solidarity

Taxi offices in the town centre closed from 2230 GMT last Saturday in a show of solidarity against the council rulings.

The council has argued that the public had to be protected against unlicensed drivers - and against potentially dangerous men who might pose as cabbies.

Magnetic or adhesive signs were previously used, but they could be dislodged and lost.

The stickers would be phased in over six months, but anyone without them afterwards could be fined.

Andy Lewis, chief public protection officer for Wrexham Council, said taxi drivers had a job to do, but the public had to be protected.