TWO taxi drivers who refused to carry a blind man with his guide dog have had their licences suspended by Rochdale Council.

Talib Hussain and Mohammed Idrees left Jon Prashar stranded outside Rochdale train station with his dog Amber.

Thanks to a quick-thinking colleague, who took down their registration numbers, the pair were tracked down and fined. Now they have had their hackney cab licences revoked for two weeks.

Mr Prashar from Leeds, who has been blind since birth, said: "I’m happy that it’s now over. I just hope that they have learned their lessons and it’s made other people aware of it."

Hussain, aged 51, of Chevron Close, Marland, was fined £125 by Rochdale magistrates while Idrees, aged 37, of Bolton Road, Sudden, was fined £100.

Both were also ordered to pay £128 costs in a landmark prosecution case for Rochdale Council.

Now the council’s licensing department, which received a complaint about the incident on 23 May last year, has gone one step further by imposing the ban.

Licensing panel chairman Andy Glover has described the drivers’ actions as ‘unacceptable’.

Mr Idrees was the driver at the head of the rank and when approached by Mr Prashar with his guide dog, he refused to carry the animal.

Mr Idrees later claimed that this was due to an allergy from which he suffered, although he had not applied to the council for an exemption from carrying animals on his licence.

Mr Prashar then approached Mr Hussain, the second driver in the queue, but he also declined to carry the dog.

Mr Hussain later told officers that he did so because he felt it was the duty of the driver at the head of the rank to take the fare.

Mr Glover said: "It is unacceptable for the borough’s taxi drivers to decline to carry a guide dog when asked to do so.

"The council has prosecuted the drivers concerned and also suspended their licence, showing the seriousness with which such matters are treated."

Councillor Keith Swift, portfolio holder for equality and diversity at the council said: "We are keen to ensure that all members of the community have appropriate access to private hire vehicles in the borough and are treated fairly."

Details of the sentences imposed and the compensation paid were presented to the licensing panel and were taken into account in determining the penalty imposed on that date.

Hackney carriage drivers are made aware that Rochdale Council expects them to carry registered guide dogs and failure to do so may constitute a criminal offence under the Disability Discrimination Act.