TAXI drivers who are furious with Darlington Borough Council will meet this week to decide whether to take more strike action.

On Saturday, dozens of Hackney carriage drivers and cab firms took their cars off the streets at midnight.

They are protesting at the changes to the town centre as part of the Pedestrian Heart scheme.

The drivers say the changes are unfair and are driving them out of business, because they can no longer drop many customers off at their chosen locations.

Cabbies also want permission to use bus lanes - which they say taxi drivers in some other towns and cities have access to.

Linda Linley, secretary of the Darlington Hackney/Private Hire Association, said cabbies felt their views were being ignored.

She said: "All bar four of the Hackney carriage drivers took their cars off the roads. That is more than 200. The firms also agreed between themselves not to drive to the town centre. We would say Saturday was chaos, but we have to make our point because they won't listen to us anymore.

"They have just put the charges up, but what are we paying for? We feel we are being fined."

It is the second strike by the taxi drivers in the past few weeks.

Nick Wallis, the council's portfolio holder for transport, said the only people suffering were the public, and he added that it was dangerous for cabbies to strike at night.

"We can't condone strikes or that fact the drivers who did work were intimidated and threatened.

"There will be a net increase in night-time taxi spaces when the Pedestrian Heart is completed of between 55 and 60 per cent, and they are in places that taxi drivers told us they needed them," he said.

Ms Linley said: "It is unfortunate that people were stranded.

"We are business people, not naughty children, and we need to be treated like business people.

We look at the future of Darlington and it seems there is no future for taxis."

Cabbies meet on Thursday evening.