A TAXI driver has claimed a victory for common sense after forcing West Somerset Council into a climbdown by threat- ening legal action.

Adrian Fish of Eurocars taxis drove the authority into a u-turn after lodging an appeal against a ruling that would have made him remove a seat from his seven-seater private hire vehicle.

He claimed the council's licensing committee's decision to make him take one of the six passenger seats out of his Mitsubishi Grandis would cost him thousands of pounds in lost bookings.

And after taking legal advice, he took his case to Taunton Deane Magistrates Court on the grounds the committee's decision was "manifestly unfair, wrong in law and a disproportionate and unnecessary interference" with his property, contrary to the Human Rights Act.

Ten days before the case was due to be heard, the licensing committee was reconvened and advised by the council's solicitors that its original ruling was "unsafe".

Senior council solicitor Alex Kershaw-Moore wrote: "Following legal advice that the decision made on March 16 was unsafe, the committee looked at the request for exemption again and have agreed to grant exemption to your client . . . without the need for any works to be done to the vehicle.

"In light of this new decision I would invite your client to withdraw his appeal."

Councillors met behind closed doors earlier this month to discuss Mr Fish's legal threat and decided he would not have to remove a seat after all.

Mr Fish said he was thrilled but furious he had been left with no choice but to pursue the council through the courts.

"It's cost me a considerable amount of money, but out of principle I was not going to be told by a bunch of bureaucrats what I could and could not do," a defiant Mr Fish said.

"After seeking legal advice I was told the original decision was bonkers and that I had a strong case to lodge an appeal.

"So after I took action, the council decided there were exceptional circumstances for me to keep the seat - but all they had to do in the first place was use a little common sense and all this would have been sorted out," Mr Fish said.

It is not the first time the district council's strict taxi licensing laws have courted controversy.

Mr Fish's case was only brought to the attention of the committee after councillors had earlier forced two other operators to take seats out of their own seven-seaters.

Under the council's current rules, all passengers in newly licensed vehicles must be able to "access and egress from the vehicle . . . without the need to remove or adjust any seating".

The other operators fell foul of the ruling as their vehicles had been bought after the council adopted the seating regulation in 2005.

However, council officers had advised the committee to grant Mr Fish an exemption to the rule.

Ian Timms, the council's housing and community manager, said at the time Mr Fish's vehicle was licensed in 2008, it was not necessary for it to be inspected by a licensing officer and the council had only recently been made aware his cab did not comply with the 2005 seating rule.

He said the middle row of seats in Mr Fish's Mitsubishi could easily be moved by using a foot lever, while the other drivers' vehicles had relied on hand levers to move the seats.

But committee members were unhappy with the recommendation and said it was not fair to have one rule for one driver and another for someone else and voted by seven votes to three to make Mr Fish remove a seat.

Speaking this week, Mr Fish thanked the trio of councillors for their support and questioned the logic of those who voted against him.

He said: "I would like to say a big thank you to councillors Dave Westcott, David Sanders and Hugh Davies for their support, while the ones who voted against me I would ask what they actually know about cars and seating.

"At the end of the day it has cost a lot of money to get this result, but it is money well spent when you have a thriving business and loyal customers.

"If it was down to those councillors who opposed my original application there would be businesses closing down just on their say so."

Mr Fish and his wife Trish has run Eurocars for five years and also operates an eight-seated Peugeot Eurobus.

The couple thanked their customers for their support and district council officers Kay O'Sullivan and Mr Timms.

In a letter to Mr Fish after the committee's rethink, licensing officer Mrs O'Sullivan confirmed his application to retain the additional seat had been returned to the committee "following legal advice".

She wrote: "The committee looked at the request for exemption again and have agreed to grant exemption from the council's Private Hire Regulation for your vehicle without the need for any works to be done to the vehicle.

"You are advised that exemptions from the regulations are only granted in exceptional circumstances.

"In this case, having taken into consideration all matters including the past history of your licence, the committee decided that it was fair and equitable to grant such an exemption.

"The exemption will take immediate effect and will last until such time as the vehicle is replaced, reaches the age of ten years old or ceases to be a licensed vehicle in your name."