There have been calls for more on the spot vehicle checks after seven taxis and private hire vehicles were taken off the road due to "serious vehicle defects."

A multi-agency operation involving police, Bradford Council, taxi licensing, and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency took place in Manningham and Heaton on Friday. Out of 12 taxis and private hire vehicles, seven were suspended due to defects. The partnership has not revealed if they were Hackney carriages or private hire vehicles.

A variety of vehicles were seized or taken off the road during the operation. Five vehicles were seized due to the drivers not having insurance or a licence. Numerous drivers were reported for offences such as speeding, defective tyres, no MOT, and using a mobile phone whilst driving.

One of the driver's was wanted for an offence and was subsequently arrested. DVSA prohibited 12 vehicles from driving any further due to serious vehicle defects, PC David Senior said: "The operation was a success, and was another step forward in making the roads of Bradford West safer. Similar operations are planned in other areas in the near future."

A spokesman for the Council’s Taxi Licensing Service said: “The routine operation was to make sure that taxis and the private hire trade are operating in a safe and legal manner. Working with partners in the police, Council officers carry out regular checks to make sure that residents of the district and our visitors can use licensed taxis and private hire vehicles with confidence."

Councillor Sarfraz Nazir (Lab, Manningham) said although this particular operation took place in Manningham, it was important that such operations took place district wide.

He said: "There are probably more stringent checks needed on taxis or private hire vehicles to make sure they are all road worthy. This needs to be district wide and not just in one area of Bradford.

"We need to make sure all companies in the district stick to safety measures.

"Maybe we need to do something like bring in a code of conduct or partnership where companies can work together to inspect each other's vehicles on a regular basis.

"Drivers aren't mechanics but it is important that these vehicles are road worthy and they need to be checked regularly."