DURHAM City Council has halted its plans to issue nine new taxi licences after cabbies secured legal advice.

The move follows a drivers' lightning strike over a week ago that left the city without cabs on a busy Thursday night.

Drivers were reacting to the decision by the Liberal Democrat-run authority to issue nine new hackney licences.

The council decision followed a review of taxi provision in the town, funded by the drivers themselves, and a decision to prevent any of the existing drivers from applying for them.

Both the Durham City Taxi Association and the Durham Independent Taxi Association were also unhappy with another ruling that imposed age limits on vehicles and said that cabs must be white.

The wrangle deepened when the council also specified the introduction of vehicles for the disabled with rear access. Adrian Fets, of the independent association, said: "We understand that new local government guidelines will mean colour coding, but all of the drivers were of the view that they should be silver.''

He said that while the drivers welcomed the introduction of cars to carry the disabled, they belived they should have side access because of the nature of the ranks in the town.

With consultations between the sides deadlocked, the National Private Hire Association has consulted a barrister and written to the city council asking for all documentation relevant to the dispute. The letter also asked the council to halt the issuing of licences until the papers were forwarded.

While not ruling out any further strikes, Mr Fets said that drivers would now be guided by their barrister over any future action

A city council spokesman confirmed the authority had temporarily suspended the handing out of the new licences.