LEYLAND councillors have slapped a ban on issuing taxi licences following an urgent review of services across the borough.

At a recent meeting, the council voted not to award hackney carriage licences until it knows the outcome of a survey which will determine whether there is a demand for more.

Subject to consultation, councillors also decided to introduce vehicle age limits for hackney carriages and private hire cars and vans.

This means that a saloon car which is not currently licensed by the council will not be granted a licence if it is more than four years old and a black cab or minibus will not normally be granted one if it is more than six years old.

Finally, hackney carriages will have to display an additional taxi licence plate on the front of the vehicle together with an illuminated roof sign.

Private hire cars will similarly have to display a sign on both sides. Currently, all that is required is a licence plate on the outside rear of the cab. These new rules will bring South Ribble Borough Council in line with many other local authorities in the area.

Councillor Howard Gore, cabinet member responsible for taxis, believes the council's new stance will be a positive step forward.

He said: "The survey which will determine the borough's requirement for hackney carriages will be carried out by an independent company and we have decided to suspend issuing any new taxi licences until we see the results of that survey.

"The vast majority of taxi businesses in the South Ribble area run an excellent service.

"However, we need to continually review the service and the moves which we have approved address some of the imbalances compared to other districts."