Revellers in Shropshire are being urged to make sure they can get home after celebrating New Year as private hire drivers were meeting today to vote on strike action.

Scores of drivers in Telford took strike action on Saturday night in protest at Telford & Wrekin Council’s licensing department. They refused to pick up fares from 11pm until finally being persuaded by club bosses to take people home from 2am.

The Telford Private Hire Drivers’ Association wants an inquiry into its claims, which include alleged racial harassment and bullying.

Drivers said they would vote today to strike on New Year’s Eve if they did not hear from the council.

Meanwhile Councillor Jacqui Seymour, council cabinet member for community protection, urged party-goers to make contingency plans for getting home should the worst happen.

She said: “It is important that members of the public make alternative arrangements for transport on New Year’s Eve if the association presses ahead with the threat to strike.

“People should make advance plans regarding transport before going out.

“Telford & Wrekin Council has always said it is willing to continue the dialogue it has so far had with the Telford Private Hire Drivers Association.

“If some taxi operators feel that strike action on one of the busiest nights of the year is appropriate then that is up to them. We are prepared to meet them to discuss their concerns but the council will not be held to ransom.”

A spokesman for the Private Hire Drivers Association denied holding anyone to ransom, but did say strikes on New Year’s Eve were a real possibility.

“We just want something done,” he said.

“We are not holding anyone to ransom, if we were we would not have gone out in freezing cold temperatures and picked thousands of people up from 2am on Saturday. It could have been chaos but we cleaned the streets up.”

But he said that strike action would go ahead unless the association heard directly from the council.

He said: “We won’t pick people up until 6am and it will cause absolute mayhem.”

By Wayne Beese