POLICE have seized the private hire licence of a cabbie who ignored his dodgy engine.

A Bradford District bike team officer saw the driver's vehicle ahead of him, in The Bank, Eccleshill, blowing out a large cloud of dark smoke from the exhaust.

The officer spoke to the driver, when he had dropped off his passenger, and conducted an examination of his vehicle. He found the driver was committing a number of offences in relation to his Private Hire conditions.

PC Dave Hitchcocks, of the bike team, said: "Public safety is always of paramount importance. He will be reported to Bradford Hackney carriage unit and can only return to work once the defects have been rectified.

“This driver was aware of the engine issue his vehicle was suffering, yet chose to continue to use it and put others at risk. As a “professional” driver, he should keep his vehicle in a roadworthy condition, and compliance with his private hire conditions should be second nature.”