Taxi driver 'carried out sex act in public'

A HOSPITAL worker reported seeing a taxi driver carrying out a sex act “in full view of members of the public', councillors have heard.

- By GARETH LIGHTFOOT Local democracy reporter

The cabbie said he suffered from a medical condition which caused “uncontrollable itching” to his genitals. However his explanation did not stop Middlesbrough Council from revoking his private hire licence in 2024.

An employee of James Cook University Hospital had reported that she and her partner witnessed the driver standing outside his taxi carrying out a sex act. In an interview, the cabbie told council officers he had “a medical condition” causing him discomfort when sitting.

Details of the incident have been revealed in minutes of Stockton Council's general licensing committee from earlier this year. The unnamed motorist applied to Stockton Council for a hackney carriage and private hire driver licence, without declaring his previous licence or its revocation in Middlesbrough.

He later asked to withdraw his application, no longer wanting to be a licensed taxi driver for personal reasons.

But Stockton's licensing committee decided “bearing in mind the seriousness of the concerns raised... it was proportionate and appropriate to determine the matter”.