TAXI drivers are seeing red after being ordered by "bullying" councillors to paint all their cabs the same colour.

Following last week's decision, trade bodies representing 90 per cent of cabbies in Welwyn and Hatfield issued an angry statement.

In it they say they are "disgusted by the way in which Welwyn Hatfield Council thinks that it can impose unfair restrictions on our business without proper consultation".

From April all newly-licensed Hackney Carriage cabs - which can pick people up from the rank - will be coloured silver with a maroon stripe.

And all private hire vehicles - those that can only be pre-ordered - will be dark blue.

The cabs will also have Welwyn Hatfield Council's crest on the back doors.

But the proposals were blasted at a special meeting of the council's environment committee, when around 30 cabbies turned out to tell councillors what they thought of the idea.

Andy James, a cabbie for 25 years, asked the committee: "Has any member of the public ever complained to the council that they can't distinguish a taxi in this district?"

Another cabbie, who has driven for five years in the area, added: "What makes us different from other towns like Letchworth or Stevenage?

"It's going to cost the public and us, in the long run it's going to be difficult to earn a decent living."

Committee chairman Keith Pieri said: "One, it's safety for the public and two, it's a matter of identity, uniformity and professionalism.

"We have just become a borough and we should make efforts to look like a borough."

Councillor Jacqui Russell said she thought the consultation had not been carried out properly.

She and Labour colleague councillor Colin Croft both abstained from the vote.

The plans were approved and will now be recommended to cabinet for ratification.

In their statement issued this week, the cabbies say: "We believe that crucial advice given by the chief legal services officer to members of the council was flawed.

"The trade also finds the way that Welwyn Hatfield Council employs bullying and antagonistic techniques totally alien to our democratic society.
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