A NEW company has been launched in Lancashire which allows people to text for a taxi rather than dialling a phone.

Text a Cab is to be extended across the whole of Lancashire and the men behind the business believe it will be the latest craze in mobile phone text messaging.

Partners Shakil Dharas, 25, of Burnley, and Aftab Hassan, 29, who lives in Brierfield, have been friends for four years and have been concocting business ideas while both working in Asda on the management training scheme.

They believe many people prefer to text rather than speak over the phone and they say they have already been inundated with taxi firms wanting to use the service and expect many more.

Launched in Blackburn, Text a Cab will be hitting other areas across Lancashire soon. It allows local people to use their mobile phone to text for a taxi to take them to their destination. Once the taxi firm has accepted the job, both the driver and client will receive a three digit number, providing security for all.

In six months' time, Shakil and Aftab hope to install a satellite tracking system that will be able to monitor the location of the mobile phone, adding even more security.

Both Shakil and Aftab, previous Burnley College students, went to Burnley Enterprise back in May to receive help in setting up their business. Business adviser John Stott helped them to develop their business plan and put them in touch with Jamikie, a company that provides text messaging services via the web.

Aftab said: "We have both dreamed of starting our own business and to work for ourselves. We decided we wanted to make a difference in people's lives and do something different."

Shakil and Aftab have big ambitions for Text a Cab and hope to expand nationally and eventually expand into Europe.