BURNLEY cabbies today revealed attacks on drivers and their vehicles had continued nearly nine months after disturbances in the town.

But the secretary of Burnley Private Hire Association Duncan Allan said a new CCTV system should improve security.

He said three or four drivers had been injured and one was seriously injured while working in the Kibble Bank area in the last few months.

He welcomed Burnley Council's plan to work with taxi drivers and Hackney carriage owners to fund a comprehensive CCTV system.

An attack on an Asian taxi driver is believed to have helped spark violence last June and during the disturbances several cabs were attacked as they were driven through the town.

Hackney cabs and taxis withdrew all services in Burnley for two weeks following the incidents.

Mr Allan said: "Only last weekend we had cabs with windscreens smashed and doors kicked in. I wouldn't think the situation has changed since the task force report was published three months ago.

"I don't know how many deaths there have been of cab drivers who have been attacked by their passengers all over the country over the last few months but it is something which could happen here.

"The security cameras will make a very real difference. I have seen the system we are getting which operates in Bolton at the moment and it is fantastic.

"They monitor the cab and constantly take pictures but only when the driver presses a panic alarm do the pictures get noted, and they can go back to pictures taken in the five minutes leading up to the alarm being sounded."

The CCTV is monitored at a national call centre and they determine what response in needed. The system also gives a location of the cab accurate to one metre.

He also welcomed the extension of Burnley Against Night-time Disorder which now also bans people from licensed premises in the town centre for damaging cabs.