Cabbies told: You must take guide dogs

The warning comes after a private hire driver was suspended for 21 days for refusing to take a blind person and his dog.

Bradford Council hackney carriage manager, Paul Mills, said the complainant had been drinking at a working men's club in Tyersal and had asked a doorman to ring him a taxi. The doorman informed the taxi operator that the man was blind and had a guide dog and the operator said that was not a problem.

When the taxi arrived, however, the driver told the man he was allergic to dogs and could not take him.

The complainant claimed the taxi then drove off, but the driver said he told the man to wait while he rang another taxi.

Despite this claim, there was no record at his office of another vehicle being requested. The complainant decided to walk home.

The driver could not provide any evidence to support his claim of being allergic to the dogs when interviewed by the Council's Hackney Carriage Inspectors.

Under Bradford Council by-laws and the Disability Discrimination Act, it is an offence to refuse to carry anyone who is accompanied by a guide dog. The maximum fine is £1,000 plus suspension or revocation of the driver's licence.

Councillor Andrew Smith, chairman of the Hackney Carriage Private Hire Panel, said: "It is illegal for drivers to refuse to transport guide dogs unless they have an exemption certificate issued by us and displayed in their vehicle.

"Bradford is one of the councils which has recently been praised by The Guide Dog for the Blind Association for enforcing the legislation. Drivers need to know that we will not tolerate such discrimination and will continue to check that they are abiding by the rules."

Geraldine Peacock, chief executive of The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, said: "It is vital that when guide dog owners do face this sort of discrimination, they report it to the council. It is equally important that the council then follows up the complaint and takes firm action."