A TAXI driver has lost his bid to regain his private hire licence after magistrates agreed he was a not a "fit and proper person" to hold one.

On January 29 Bolton Council's licensing committee decided to revoke Olusegun Ogunmokun's licence after hearing a series of allegations about his behaviour.

Mr Ogunmokun appealed against the decision at Bolton Magistrates' Court where Malcolm Hope, for Bolton Council, outlined concerns about the driver.

He told how Mr Ogunmokun failed to promptly notify the licensing team of a motorway speeding penalty he had received or declare it on a renewal form for his licence.

And when checks were made with Greater Manchester police, they revealed that there had previously been reports about him drink driving and an allegation from a former partner that he had pushed her while she was pregnant.

However, 46-year-old Mr Ogunmokun was not charged or convicted of any of the alleged offences.

Checks were also made with Uber, who revealed that they had received 37 complains about the driver, who has held a private hire licence since 2017. In total 24 complaints were about the fares charged, 12 were about the routes he took and one was about inappropriate conduct.

Mr Hope told how, on July 28, 2018, a complaint was made by a passenger about "inappropriate" comments and questions from Mr Ogunmokun which made them feel "uncomfortable".

When questioned about the allegations Mr Ogunmokun stated that he had never been in trouble with the police, did not drink and no inappropriate conduct with a passenger had occurred.

An appeal hearing is a civil matter where the burden of proof is lower than that of a criminal case but Roger Brown, representing father-of-three Mr Ogunmokun, stressed that the allegations about his behaviour were "hearsay". "Much of the information is not reliable," he added.

But Mr Hope stressed that the council's primary consideration is the protection of the public.

Magistrates decided that the licensing committee's decision to revoke the licence was correct. Magistrate Stephen Paine told Mr Ogunmokun: "We believe the decision made by the local authority was a reasonable one and therefore dismiss your appeal."