A CAB driver has been banned from working in the trade after claiming a family member took his keys and committed a speeding offence in his taxi.

A panel of councillors in Bolton took the action after they concluded the driver ‘was developing a serious pattern of behaviour that was not acceptable for a licence holder’.

He had twice previously been suspended for failing to notify the council of speeding convictions.

Recently published minutes from a Bolton Council licensing regulation committee gave the details of the latest infraction.

The report said: “Members were also concerned that the offence from January 2020, had resulted in a substantial fine and six penalty points.

“The driver attended the meeting and explained the circumstances surrounding the case.

“He stated that one of his family members had borrowed his car without his knowledge and committed a speeding offence.

“He had not managed to establish who had taken the keys and, although he had questioned everyone who had access to his car, no-one had admitted to speeding.

“As a result, he had not returned the necessary forms to the police as to the driver of the vehicle at the time of the offence and had been convicted for not supplying the necessary information as to the driver.

“The driver assured members that this would not happen again and had changed the insurance on his car so that no third party could drive it.

“Members were extremely concerned that other members of the driver’s family were able to have access to the car and drive it without the driver’s knowledge.

“They felt that allowing an unlicensed driver to have access to and drive a licensed taxi posed a serious threat to the safety of the public and that the driver had been extremely irresponsible in allowing this to happen.”

The same driver had been before similar panels in 2016 and 2011 for not declaring speeding offences.

In those cases he was given suspensions of 12 weeks for the 2016 breach and a week for the previous one.

Members of the panel voted by a majority of seven to two to revoke the driver’s taxi licence with immediate effect.