Council taxi and private hire blitz pulls three cabs off the road in safety crackdown
- Perry Richardson
- 13 hours ago
- 2 min read
Warwick District Council has removed three licensed vehicles from the road following a joint enforcement operation with the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency and Warwickshire Police.
A total of 53 licensed private hire and hackney carriage vehicles were inspected on Thursday 13 February 2026 to ensure they met safety and licensing requirements. Mechanics from the Council’s nominated garages, H M Bryan and Sons Ltd and Tyreman Ltd, assisted officers during the roadside checks.
The operation resulted in three vehicles being immediately prohibited due to safety-related defects. One private hire vehicle was found to have an inside tyre tread below the legal minimum. The vehicle was immediately prohibited and its private hire plate suspended. The Council confirmed that follow-up action will take place to ensure the vehicle is returned to a roadworthy condition before the suspension is lifted.
A second vehicle was discovered to have illegal tinted windows on the front of the vehicle. That vehicle was also immediately prohibited. The prohibition was lifted at the roadside once the tint was removed, but the driver received a fixed penalty notice. Officers also identified non-standard number plates on the same vehicle, which will be subject to further investigation by enforcement officers.
Joint operation with DVSA and Warwickshire Police checks 53 licensed vehicles, with immediate prohibitions issued for tyre, window tint and indicator faults
A third vehicle was found with a faulty indicator light. It too was immediately prohibited and will not be permitted to return to service until the defect has been repaired and the prohibition lifted.
Of the remaining 49 vehicles inspected, 14 were found to have minor licensing infringements. These issues will be followed up by the Council’s licensing officers. The Council did not specify the nature of those infringements but confirmed that they did not warrant immediate prohibition.
Joint inspection exercises of this kind form part of ongoing compliance work aimed at ensuring licensed vehicles operating within the district meet both national road safety standards and local licensing conditions.
Warwick District Council has not indicated whether further joint inspections are planned in the coming weeks, but similar exercises have been used by councils across the UK to reinforce standards within the taxi and private hire sector.
Councillor Jim Sinnott, Portfolio Holder for Safer, Healthier and Active Communities, said: “I would like to express my thanks to the Council’s Licensing team, the DVSA, Warwickshire Police and the nominated garages for once again carrying out these inspections.
“Taxi drivers play an important role in providing transport to those who need it, so it’s vital that they keep their vehicles safe and legal and are fully aware of what’s required of them, protecting both their passengers and the wider community. It’s great to see that most of the vehicles inspected adhered to their licensing conditions. For those that didn’t, our officers will be closely following this up to ensure compliance.
“The Council takes its licensing responsibilities seriously and will not hesitate to take action to guarantee the public’s safety.”
