South Derbyshire District Council is cracking down on rule-breaking cabbies.

It is teaming up with North West Leicestershire and East Staffordshire councils to cut out the problem in Swadlincote, Burton, Coalville and Ashby,

Current legislation governing taxis leaves councils extremely restricted when stopping drivers that have been licensed elsewhere.

For areas where drivers often cross between district boundaries such as through East Staffordshire, North West Leicestershire and South Derbyshire, this is a frequent issue.

A licensing officer for South Derbyshire stopping a taxi licensed in East Staffordshire, for example, has "no authority" other than to refer them back to their licensing authority.

But now, the three district and borough councils are signing a joint agreement to delegate powers to each other.

It will mean that each of the three councils could stop drivers from each of the other areas.

They would also be able to inspect their licences, test their vehicles and suspend their licences if the vehicles do not pass the required tests.

A report written by South Derbyshire District Council on the plan says: "These proposals will continue to demonstrate to members of the public that the council takes the protection of local residents, children, and vulnerable adults from the potential harms of private hire licensing seriously, which contributes to the value of taking pride in our place and striving for excellence in all we do."

It says it has become "increasingly difficult to regulate drivers and vehicles operating within South Derbyshire licensed by other authorities, in particular North West Leicestershire District Council and East

Staffordshire Borough Council".

South Derbyshire officers wrote: "In order to address this issue and to try and improve driver and vehicle standards, officers have worked with the other two licensing authorities to find a way to work in partnership and conduct enforcement across licensing boundaries."

Taxi and private hire drivers can have their licences suspended for a whole host of reasons, including poor vehicle maintenance, driving offences and abusing passengers.

Some drivers may have had additional conditions attached to their licences due to previous transgressions.

This can follow breaches such as undisclosed criminal convictions, out-of-date background checks or failure to disclose penalty points for speeding.