TAXI drivers brought Darlington town centre to a standstill at the weekend over complaints that the council is not allowing them to work.

Nearly 40 licensed hackney cars drove slowly around the town on Saturday afternoon to protest to Darlington Borough Council's decision to clamp down on the number of vehicles allowed at each rank.

Taxi drivers say they have been promised a feeder rank in the market place for more than two years, but that it has not been delivered.

Billy McMillan, spokesman for the drivers, said: "On Friday, traffic wardens came down and said that only three cars were allowed on the rank and they had to ticket any extra vehicles.

"We were told to drive around town until a space becomes available. It's completely impractical and Saturday's event showed exactly what it would mean for the town.

"This is not a protest, but it will continue throughout the week until the council agrees to let us have more cars parked on the ranks.

"They issued just under 200 licenses and give us only eight places to work from in the town centre. It's completely impractical. We were promised another rank and for too long we have waited.

"The council has always known we have had more than three cars outside of the covered market. Now, it has started to enforce this rule, which meant a few of us were given tickets on Friday."

A council spokeswoman said: "Since the council took over responsibilities from the police for car parking enforcement earlier this year, we are taking forward the required changes to the traffic regulations in this area to address the taxi driver's concerns.

"However, there is a required standard legal procedure that must be completed prior to the changes to the highway markings and space being made.

"We would never wish for either drivers or residents to be inconvenienced in this way and would ask for continued patience from taxi drivers until the legal process has been completed to avoid unnecessary inconvenience to other road users.

"In relation to ticketing, until the legal changes have been made, we have to treat all drivers equally. If any car is found waiting outside of a legal designated area it will be ticketed - this takes place to ensure all highways are kept safe and clear for free-flowing traffic. Any driver in receipt of a ticket can submit an appeal."