IT is good to see that Bolton Council is continuing its crackdown on private-hire drivers who aren’t fit to get behind the wheel.

Licensing bosses have made it clear that they will not hesitate to revoke the licences of those who break the law or behave in an unacceptable manner.

They have also clamped down on drivers if historical offences come to light. This has caused concern among some, who argue that although they agree that anyone with a sexual offence on their record should not have a licence, there needs to be some latitude with those found guilty of past minor offences.

This week one driver had his licence revoked because he unleashed a “tirade of verbal abuse” on a female passenger after she queried a higher-than-usual fare he had demanded.

Although the driver admitted he “got angry and had a temper” he refuted the passenger’s specific allegation. Despite this, his licence was revoked because of concerns about public safety.

This is spot on. The job of a private-hire driver is a responsible one; the lives of the passengers in their vehicles are in their hands and it is crucial that the public should feel safe.

There are thousands of private-hire drivers across the borough and the ‘bad apples’ are a small minority.

However, in the same way that pubs and clubs can be named if they lose their licence for flouting licensing laws, surely it is right that the council should name individual private-hire drivers who are stripped of their licence in a local authority hearing (they would be identified if dealt with in the magistrates’ court).

The whole idea about publicly naming and shaming of people who break the law ­— criminal or civil ­— is to add an extra dimension of deterrent, as well as to make it absolutely transparent who the offender is.

Meanwhile, in other news, Bolton was featured on national TV in the new series Saving Poundstretcher, which aired on Channel 4 on Monday.

The documentary highlighted the challenges facing the business across the UK, which has a branch in Knowsley Street.

Unsurprisingly, there were the usual shots of shuttered-up shops in Bolton town centre and talk of how the town was struggling.

Of course, this is an issue which can’t be ignored and it’s right to show the situation as it is, warts and all. Sanitising it and pretending everything is hunky dory is not healthy at all.

But, we all know that is a very one-sided view. Much has been done to address the decline of Bolton town centre and even more is in the pipeline.

Near Poundstretcher is the Market Place, which has undergone a fantastic transformation.

I am looking forward to the Channel 4 documentary the Market Place ­— ‘The Place To Be: Rise of the Shopping Centre’. I won’t hold my breath though.