ANGRY black cab drivers blocked an entrance into a Bolton Council building in protest at the town hall failing to crackdown on private hire vehicles picking up people from the streets.

The 25 Hackney carriage drivers staged the blockade between 7am and 8am today said they pay £300 in licence fees which gives them the privilege of picking up customers on the street.

Private hire drivers should only carry people who have pre-booked.

Bill Williams, a spokesman for the drivers, claims some private taxi drivers are picking up customers on the street and parking in black cab ranks and nothing is being done by the council to stop them. The protest took place at the Commercial Services building, on Wellington Street, and drivers said that more action was possible. A Bolton Council spokesman said: "We accept there is a need for out of hours enforcement to catch private hire drivers picking up people on the streets. We are currently working out how to do just that."

ANGRY black cab drivers blocked an entrance into a Bolton Council building in protest at the town hall failing to crackdown on private cabs picking up people from the streets. The 25 Hackney carriage drivers in the blockade between 7am and 8am today said they pay £300 in licence fees which gives them the privilege of picking up customers on the street.

Private hire drivers should only carry people who have pre-booked.

Bill Williams, a spokesman for the drivers, claims some private taxi drivers are picking up customers on the street and parking in black cab ranks and nothing is being done by the council to stop them. The protest took place at the Commercial Services building, on Wellington Street, and drivers said that more action was possible unless the council enforced the laws. A Bolton Council spokesman said: "We accept there is a need for out of hours enforcement to catch private hire drivers picking up people on the streets. We are currently working out how to do just that."