Taxi driver loses licence following alleged violence towards blind army veteran

A Tunbridge Wells taxi driver has lost his licence after complaints were made surrounding an incident with a blind army veteran. The taxi driver was filmed by the veteran during the altercation which started when Alun Elder-Brown, 61, entered the taxi with his guide dog. According to a report in the Kent Live, Elder-Brown approached the driver at the taxi rank outside Tunbridge Wells station with his seven-year-old Labrador dog. Elder-Brown said that he moved around to the passenger door and began to push the front seat back. The taxi driver told him that the dog should go in the rear seat although guide dogs should stay with their owners. As Elder-Brown attempted to sit down, the driver grabbed his arm and allegedly hit him across the face. Veteran Brown was recording the incident on his phone which the taxi driver snatched from his hand. According to Elder-Brown, two or three other taxi drivers surrounded him and even accused him of racism, which he denied. Mr Elder-Brown, who used to be the chairman of Tunbridge Wells UKip, said that if he was a racist he wouldn’t be getting in a “Muslim car”. Tunbridge Wells Borough Council said that the driver’s licence was revoked based on the information presented to them. The driver has the right to appeal to the magistrates within 2 days.