Braintree taxi boss John Ahmed has won his fight to have a suspension against his licence revoked.

Mr Ahmed, 44, who runs Direct Line Taxis in Manor Street, appealed against Braintree District Council's decision to suspend his operator's licence, before Witham Magistrates Court last Thursday.

The court heard that the council's licensing committee decided to suspend the license last August, after hearing that in three years Mr Ahmed's vehicles had failed inspections on 26 occasions.

Mr Ahmed had immediately lodged an appeal against the decision, saying that the failed taxis were not in use at the time.

Six weeks later, when his licence came up for renewal, the committee voted unanimously for it to be returned, but for one year instead of the usual three. At the time Mr Ahmed vowed to take his fight to the courts.

Mr Ahmed told the court: "I have continued to run my business as normal. I would never use vehicles that were not fit for the road.

"All the vehicles are S, T, or V registration, and safety is extremely important to me and my staff. I have never broken any law or been in trouble with the police."

The court heard that Braintree District Council offered no evidence against Mr Ahmed and his appeal was upheld.

Outside the court, Mr Ahmed, said he was "over the moon".

"I am totally delighted with the outcome. I have won the battle. It has been a hard few months for me, my staff, and family, but now we can put it all behind us.

"I am delighted for my staff and customers, who have been very supportive. It is now business as normal. I built this company up from one car and I was not going to go down without a fight," he said.

It's thumbs up for taxi boss John Ahmed (front) with (left to right) drivers Ernie Holden and Clive Dickens, manager Sarah Nightingale and assistant manager Perry Everritt.

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