A convoy of about 100 taxis threatened to bring a town centre to a halt yesterday.

Angry cabbies drove at 20mph through Middlesbrough to hand in a petition at the town hall demanding more action to get rogue drivers off the streets.

Members of Middlesbrough's Hackney Carriage Association said not enough was being done to stop people unwittingly getting into unlicensed and uninsured taxis.

Unlicensed pirate operators and taxis from neighbouring boroughs, which are not insured to work in Middlesbrough, visit the town in search of trade from revellers.

Middlesbrough Council says it is working hard to beat the problem with 39 offenders prosecuted in the past year.

But association chairman Azif Afzal says this is only the tip of a very big iceberg.

He said: "The protest is all about illegal cars plying for hire in Middlesbrough, a problem which for too long has just been brushed under the carpet by the local authority.

"It is a public safety issue. If these cars are involved in an accident there is no insurance cover for the customer.

"Middlesbrough is probably the centre point of the Tees Valley and a lot of people consequently come into the town. It's a problem which needs to be addressed at the highest level."

Mr Afzal said central government should take action to stop a problem that is repeated across every major town and city in Britain.

Councillor Barry Coppinger, executive member for public safety with Middlesbrough Council, said the authority's licensing officers were out on the streets with Cleveland Police officers one weekend every month, targeting unlicensed and uninsured cabs and carrying out spot checks.

He said: "Rogue drivers out to make a quick buck with no regard for public safety or for honest traders are a problem in every town and city

"But in Middlesbrough we are on their trail and are determined to keep them out.''

* Only Middlesbrough's distinctive black and yellow cabs are licensed and insured to pick up fares in the town.