A TAXI operator parked his fleet outside a council depot in protest after spending £40,000 on the six new vehicles, only to be told none of them met local authority criteria and were unusable.

Terry Ledden, owner of Ledden’s Taxis in Ffordd Las, Rhyl, left his new cabs at the front doors of the Denbighshire County Council (DCC) maintenance facility in Bodelwyddan.

Mr Ledden brought the new taxis to keep up with council standards as the other cars in his fleet were starting to age, but upon inspection on Monday, he was told the new cabs were not allowed to be used commercially.

He said the space between the front and the back seats was deemed to be too small and that was the only reason his cabs didn’t pass the test.

The gap between the front and back seats of Terry Ledden’s new taxis is said to not meet the council's guidelines

Mr Ledden told the Journal: “I’m just trying to invest in my company, to help the future of Denbighshire.

“It cost £40,000, so its a financial investment and I’ve been here for the past 30 years so I’ve been putting into the community for a long time.

“But it just seems to be hurdle after hurdle and they are stopping you from making a go of it.”

The authority have told Mr Ledden to make an appeal he must wait and put it to a full council meeting, with the next one in December.

He said what made him even more disappointed was the fact that there were other cars the same as his new models currently working on the roads.

A spokesman for Denbighshire County Council said: “The council are aware of the situation and are looking to resolve it as soon as is possible.

“Following a period of public consultation, members of the licensing committee resolved to adopt a licensing policy and conditions in December last year, which was implemented in July 2017.

“This policy includes a vehicle specification which must be met by all vehicles being approved after July.”