Taxi bosses say foreign drivers are being abused by passengers – because sometimes they don't know where they're going.
Malcolm Wickham, manager of AquaCars in Portsmouth, claims many of his foreign cabbies 'take a lot of stick' on a regular basis, whereas English drivers who get lost escape any abuse.

'I think Asian and Eastern European drivers put up with a lot,' he said.

'If a white British driver tells someone they're not sure where a place is people are generally understanding and are happy to chat to them while giving directions.

'If a foreign driver says he's not sure where a place is people tend to get immediately frustrated.

'I don't expect a new driver to know where every street in Portsmouth is, that's unreasonable.

'We've probably got about 15 drivers who actually come from out of the country but around 100 who look foreign.

'Despite them being Pompey lads born and bred they can still get stick because of the way they look.'

Before receiving their taxi licence drivers need to sit a test.

Drivers at AquaCars, which employs 720 cabbies, have to get at least 100 out of 150 questions correct. These include naming the streets where landmarks, pubs and restaurants can be found, and also filling in blanked out street names on a map.

They then have to sit another test set by Portsmouth City Council.

However, some taxi users say some foreign drivers don't know the local area.

Melissa Clark, 26, of Waverley Road, Southsea, said: 'The foreign drivers do not know where they are going. I often find that I have to direct them.'

Jenny Ross, 21, of Castle Road, Southsea, added: 'I have been in a car so many times and they ask me where they are meant to be going.

'The whole point of me getting a taxi is that I don't know where I am going. It is getting worse. There are definitely more foreign drivers on the road than there used to be.'

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