A SURVEY of taxis in Hyndburn found more than three quarters of vehicles tested were unfit for the road.

The results have been described as "extremely disappointing" by council leaders and police, who said "irresponsible" taxi drivers could be putting lives at risk.

But Mohammed Arif, of the Hyndburn Taxi Association, said the "vast majority" of taxis in the area were in a good condition.

The council's vehicle maintenance team and police officers carried out safety checks on 14 private hire taxis in the borough. Just four were found to be without any mechanical defects.

Five of the vehicles (36 per cent) were in such a poor state that the operators were served with a statutory notice for the car to be removed from the road.

A further five cars were served with a default notice, which means minor faults must be rectified before further tests take place.

PC Aidan Broughton said: "We were disappointed by the high percentage of vehicles taken off the road, and feel many of the minor defects could have been easily rectified by drivers carrying out simple checks before starting their shifts."

Deputy leader Coun Brian Roberts, said: "Taxis are an important part of the public transport system and the council takes passenger safety very seriously.

"We are disappointed by the number of vehicles checked that were found defective.

"The public are putting their trust in the operators, and we hope that those concerned will take notice of this wake up call."

But Mr Arif said passen-gers need not worry about using taxis in the borough.

He added: "The vast majority of taxis are kept in an excellent condition."