That's the result of a multi-agency operation involving police, South Somerset District Council and the Vehicle and Operator Standards Agency (VOSA).

Spot checks were carried out in Yeovil and Wincanton.

Eight taxis were given warnings due to having no first aid box or fire extinguisher onboard, but were allowed to carry on trading, but four vehicles were taken off the road
immediately.

Vehicles that had tyres below the minimum tread depth, or faulty lights were served with a Taxi Stop Notice and taken off the road until they were repaired.

Yeovil-based PC Tony Foster from Avon and Somerset Constabulary's Road Policing Unit, said, "The multi agency-checks allow us to examine vehicles in great detail and discover offences that may otherwise go undetected.

"Private motorists were also checked with three vehicles being prohibited and ordered off the road for offences such as heavily tinted windows and lighting defects.

"It was disappointing to see that all of the taxis ordered off the road were for having illegal tyres when these are so critical to road safety and easy for the driver to check to see if they are in good condition. The travelling public can be certain that similar multi-agency checks will follow in our drive to improve road safety for all."

Nigel Marston, SSDC's Licensing Officer, said, "When dealing with public safety we have to take a very hard line. Taxi drivers perform a vital service to the community, but they have to meet minimum standards to keep their vehicles in a roadworthy state.

"We were shocked at the amount of vehicles we had to issue tickets to, at nearly 75% it is alarming to see. We are here to ensure that safety levels are kept to the highest possible standard, and to do that we had to take some vehicles off the road until they were fixed and in a roadworthy condition."

It is up to the taxi driver to check their vehicle is in a roadworthy state before they start to drive it. the owner and operators must also check them, on a regular basis to ensure they are safe.

Drivers who have had their vehicles taken off the road must fix the problem, get a new MOT, and have the vehicle checked by VOSA and SSDC before it is allowed back on the road.

Cllr Ric Pallister, SSDC Portfolio Holder for Housing, Environment Health, and Inclusion, said, "This is an alarming amount of taxis that are unsafe, drivers cannot afford to take these risks when dealing with the lives of members of the public. When entering their vehicles the public places trust in the drivers to ensure that their cars are in full, safe, working order.

"It is deeply worrying to have such a large number of taxis that do not meet the required standards of road worthiness. We expect a high standard to be met, and at the moment there is a significant number that don't meet it."