Taxi driver to pay £800 for refusing to take blind woman and guide dog

A taxi driver has been ordered to pay nearly £800 after refusing to let a blind woman pensioner and her guide dog into his cab.

John Derek Mycroft, 55 of Brocklehurst Way in Macclesfield, was prosecuted by Cheshire East Council after the incident at a taxi rank in Macclesfield.

Patricia Powell, a retired nurse who has been blind for 18 years, was being accompanied by her guide dog Yates at the time.

Along with a Tesco security officer who was helping with her shopping bags, she heard the defendant say: “I’m not taking the dog, get in the next taxi.”

In a statement to Macclesfield Magistrates’ Court Mrs Powell said she felt “frustrated and discriminated against”.

She added: “My guide dog is my constant companion and I would be lost without him.
Yates is with me at all times as he is my mobility tool – not my pet. I need him to be with me, to be my guide.

“This is the sixth time that I have been refused access to a taxi now, as a result of having my guide dog with me.”

Mrs Powell said: “Luckily, in this case there was another taxi available to carry me but it worries me that this may have occurred at night when I was on my own and I could have been left in a dangerous situation.

“The incident has left me feeling very anxious and nervous about travelling by taxi, in case the issue occurs again, and has caused me significant upset. I would also hate for this to happen to another guide dog owner.”

The driver who took Mrs Powell home provided statement supporting her complaint, as did the Tesco security officer.

When questioned by the council about the incident, the defendant had claimed that he did not want to miss out on an upcoming pre-booked job and was looking for a customer who only required a short journey.

Mycroft subsequently pleaded guilty to refusing to take a passenger from a cab rank on April 24, 2014 ‘without reasonable cause’ – an offence under the 1847 Town Police Clauses Act.

Mr Stephen Rodgers, defending, said in mitigation: “Mr Mycroft accepts he should have taken Mrs Powell and her dog and he regrets the decision he made.

“This is not an experience he wishes to repeat and he is aware that he made the wrong decision and he has no problem with transporting blind people in his taxi.”

Magistrates imposed a fine of £100 with an additional victim’s surcharge of £20 and ordered Mycroft to pay £665 prosecution costs.

Cllr Les Gilbert, Cheshire East’s Cabinet member in charge of localism and enforcement, said: “It is completely unacceptable for blind people to be discriminated against and put at a disadvantage in this way.

“I am pleased that the council’s licensing officers were able to bring this matter to court. It sends out a powerful message to other taxi drivers about their obligations.”