A FURIOUS cabbie has been refused a licence because his taxi is the wrong shade of black.

Khalid Hussain shelled out £4,500 for his Vauxhall Vectra, which is described as black in its log book.

But as far as Newcastle City Council is concerned it is not black enough. They told Mr Hussain, 51, that his car had a hint of grey and told him he would not be allowed to carry passengers. The row threatens to prompt a legal battle, with Newcastle's taxi drivers determined to challenge the ruling.

Mr Hussain has driven taxis for nine years without any complaints made against him.

But his problems began when he took his new car to a council testing station to see if it was fit to carry passengers.

The car passed with flying colours - but the paintwork did not.

The father-of-four, of Fenham, Newcastle, said: "They said it wasn't the proper colour but the car is black - it says so on the log book. The car is fine, I can't see why it was refused. Surely black is just black."

He now plans to challenge the decision in court, with the backing of Newcastle Hackney Drivers' Association.

But Peter Sweet, safety and licensing manager at Newcastle City Council, said the policy was to avoid confusion between black cabs and mini cabs. Accredited black cabs can pick people up anywhere, whereas minicabs, which are not allowed to be black in Newcastle, have to be pre-booked.