A TAXI firm is taking extreme measures to ensure the safety of its drivers by installing security cameras in its 350 cabs.

Boro Cars, the largest cab company in Middlesbrough, has taken the action in an attempt to combat escalating violence against drivers.

The move follows a number of assaults on cabbies in the past year, with one cabbie having his face slashed in Billingham last month and another beaten unconscious last May.

Installation of the cameras, costing more than £200 each, will be carried out by Autocab, a company specialising in taxi safety.

Boro Cars director John Moon believes the £7,000 move will be a cost-effective way of ensuring the safety of drivers and customers.

"It is big investment but we are looking at securing the well-being of staff and the people who use our cabs," he said. "Last year, we had a spate of attacks and this is something that we have been looking at since then."

The firm will place signs in taxis warning people they are being filmed while they are in the back and Mr Moon hopes the move will bring peace of mind to his customers.

"We hope this move will give confidence to the people who use our taxis by reassuring them we take their safety seriously. Hopefully, they will act as a deterrent against further attacks," he said.

Last year, Boro Cars was one of a number of Teesside taxi firms to install satellite tracking devices in its cabs to enable any driver to receive immediate assistance.

Some drivers had refused to go out at night and declared parts of the town no-go areas.