COUNCIL chiefs have vowed to continue their crackdown on rogue taxi drivers after a private hire car driver was fined for plying for trade in Burnley town centre.

Pervaiz Akhter, of Cromwell Street, Burnley, was ordered to pay a fine of £130 and £125 costs after he was convicted of 'plying for hire.' He was stopped earlier this month in Hammerton Street by police after picking up a passenger who had not pre-booked the car. Under the law, only black cabs are allowed to pick up passengers off the street, private hire cars must be pre-booked.

The prosecution follows the launch of a new scheme designed to stamp out the plying for hire problem and making travelling by taxi safer.

The Homesafe scheme is aimed at people who frequent pubs and clubs in the town centre and who use either hackney carriage or private hire cars to get home.

Council licensing officer Mick Armfield, said: "Private hire drivers plying for hire in the town centre late at night are a constant problem. The council and police are determined to ensure that through enforcement of the law and by educating the public through schemes like Homesafe, this type of problem will be eradicated.

"The public must be aware of the dangers of entering a vehicle without first pre-booking it with a licensed operator."

A six-page credit card-sized booklet has been produced by the town's Alcohol Action Group, part of the Burnley Community Safety Partnership, whose aim is to reduce crime in the borough.

The booklet tells people of the proper procedures to follow when booking private hire cars or hailing black cabs and of the signs that should be fitted to vehicles.

Also included is a list of private hire firm telephone numbers and a map of the town centre showing their location.

The booklets will be handed out to pubgoers and clubbers by bar staff and doormen at licensed premises throughout the town from today.

The scheme follows Operation Faresafe, a poster campaign to raise awareness of taxi safety launched by police and council bosses earlier this year. Posters have been put up in pubs, clubs and other venues in the town.

They highlight the fact that taxi touting is a criminal offence and that taxis which have been flagged down in the street, as distinct from picked up at a taxi office or rank, are not fully insured.

The change of rules came after a teenage girl left a nightclub alone in Hammerton Street and was trying to hail a cab when she was dragged into a works yard and raped. Last year a Rossendale girl travelling from a Manchester nightclub got into an unbooked private hire cab and was subjected to a serious sexual assault.

Last month two drivers, Benjamin Chamberlain and Aurangeb Khan were fined for not holding the proper licences.