Why these 9 taxi drivers have been banned from operating in this part of Somerset

Nine taxi drivers have been banned from driving in part of Somerset after failing to complete safeguarding training.

Sedgemoor District Council issues licences to taxi and Hackney carriage drivers, while ensuring they are safe enough to provide such services to the public.

More than a dozen drivers failed to attend the relevant training sessions at the end of 2019, despite multiple attempts being made to contact them.

The council’s licensing panel met to discuss the issue in Bridgwater on January 8 – and ultimately decided that nine of the drivers would not be able to hold a licence in Sedgemoor after January 31.

Alan Weldon, the council’s licensing manager, said the training was designed to ensure all drivers were “fit and proper” to carry paying passengers in Sedgemoor.

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He said in his written report: “We work with local police and agencies to include topics such as county lines, hate crime, and a basic overview of preventing radicalisation at their request.

“It is much more than just a safeguarding session. It is a training session specific to Sedgemoor, which is not available to other drivers in the UK in this format.”

The council made multiple attempts to contact all drivers who had not undertaken the training between August 12 and October 23 – with 13 drivers in all failing to respond or attend one on the training sessions laid on.

The drivers who will not be able to drive taxis or Hackney carriages after January 31 are:

• Justas Abramavicius (Burnham-on-Sea, self-employed): Mr Abramavicius had failed to attend the refresher training sessions, and attempts to contact him by post had been returned by Royal Mail, suggesting he had moved house without notifying the council. The panel said both incidents amounted to “a clear breach of policy”
• M. D. Sarwar Alam (Bridgwater, self-employed): The panel heard Mr Alam “may spend a lot of time in London”, where he also holds a taxi licence. He had failed to make any contact with the council over the refresher course
• Wayne Bull (Bridgwater, formerly Broadway Taxis): In addition to not attending the safeguarding session, the panel heard Mr Bull was no longer employed by Broadway Taxis and his medical check had expired on January 1. The panel confirmed they had been unsuccessful in contacting him after “all reasonable attempts” had been made
• Mark Bulley (Burnham-on-Sea, self-employed): The panel chose to revoke Mr Bulley’s licence after receiving reports that he had left the taxi trade. Like others on the list, he was not able to be contacted by council officers despite multiple attempts
• Wojciech Cichocki (Burnham-on-Sea, Curtisee Cabs): Mr Cichochi told the panel in writing that he had not received letters in August asking him to attend the training and “wished to keep his options open” about staying in the taxi trade. The panel resolved his licence would be revoked unless he attended training before January 31
• Terence Daniels (based outside of Sedgemoor, Sybaris Chauffeurs): the panel received conflicting information about Mr Daniels – their licensing officers said he was not operating in the district and may have left the industry, while Mr Daniels said he “wished to keep his options open”. The panel resolved his licence would be revoked unless he attended training before January 31
• Aron Ingram (Bridgwater, Broadway Taxis): Mr Ingram told the council’s licensing officer via a phone call that he was “not driving at present” and confirmed he had not attended any training session
• Wayne Longman (Burnham-on-Sea, Curtisee Cabs): The council’s licensing team told the panel that Mr Longman was no longer working as a taxi driver and had not been successfully contacted despite multiple attempts
• Joe Watts (based outside of Sedgemoor, Broadway Taxis): The panel said Mr Watts was in “clear breach of policy” after failing to attend any training sessions, with the licensing team believing he had left the taxi trade

Two other drivers – Charlotte Mayne from Curtisee Cabs and Lewis Ryden from Sybaris Chauffeurs – had already surrendered their badges before the panel convened, meaning no further action needed to be taken.

The final two drivers – Henry Norcutt, a self-employed driver from Bridgwater, and Jack Osborne of Curtisee Cabs – were given more time to complete their training, with an additional session being organised for January 30.

Got a story? Tweet me@YazCookeor email yasmin.cooke@reachplc.com.

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