JUST a fraction of taxis and private hire vehicles in Darlington are wheelchair accessible, figures reveal.

Department for Transport figures show 228 vehicles were licensed to operate in Darlington at the end of March – but just 11 (5 per cent) could be used by those in wheelchairs.

Of the 147 traditional taxis which can be hailed from the street, only seven were wheelchair accessible.

And just four of the area's 81 private hire vehicles, which need to be pre-booked, offered the same service.

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All traditional taxis are wheelchair accessible in London and some other parts of the country, but other areas have none at all.

Across England, just two per cent of private hire vehicles, such as those available through Uber, can fit a wheelchair in them.

The proportion of taxis or hackney carriages which can do the same is much higher, falling from 57 per cent to 54 per cent over the last year.

With just one in seven vehicles across England and Wales suitably equipped, disability charity Scope said everyday inequality is rife.

In England, the number of licensed vehicles decreased from 298,800 to 251,100 over the year – a fall of 16 per cent.

The National Private Hire and Taxi Association said the huge drop in the number of licensed vehicles across England was because of the "sheer absence" of any financial support from Government for the industry.

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