TAXI drivers applying for a licence will have to speak "satisfactory" English under radical new plans being considered by Bolton Council.

Fears that the poor language skills of some cabbies is contributing to a growing number of attacks has led to new proposals to test the drivers of both hackney carriage and private hire vehicles.

Charles Oakes, secretary of the Bolton Taxi Association, told a meeting of the council's Licensing and Environmental Regulation Committee that he fears a driver could be die if the communication skills of some cabbies are not improved.

He said: "There is a problem with some taxi drivers who do not have a good grasp of English and I think someone is going to get killed because of it. I am concerned about the increase of attacks against drivers and I am not happy about some of my drivers, who cannot read English, going out on the road."

Committee members voted to back plans for new rules requiring that drivers applying for a licence display an "adequate command of the English language".

It follows a series of attacks on taxi drivers in the Bolton area.

Earlier this year, Mohammed Amjad, aged 37, was left for dead after he was punched repeatedly by a man wearing a knuckleduster. His jaw was broken in seven places and he lost teeth.

But Cllr Akhtar Zaman, of the Labour group, said he feared some Asian taxi drivers could suffer as a result of the tests.

He said: "I am concerned about the use of the word 'adequately'. How do you measure that?"

Cllr Ebrahim Adia, also Labour, said: "I am happy to support this as long as the test is fair and not arbitrary."

Cllr Prentice Howarth urged the committee to do everything in its power to maintain the safety of taxi drivers. She said: "If there isn't good understanding then fights can break out, particularly when people are drunk."

Cllr John Hanscomb, of the Conservatives, said: "If someone cannot communicate they should not have a licence. It is as simple as that."