A private hire taxi driver has lost his licence after concerns were raised about his contact with schoolgirls.

The driver, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had his licence removed by Bolton Council’s licensing and environmental regulation committee.

He was banned after the councillors heard from police how complaints by passengers had been made and a parent raised concern about the driver’s conduct while he was off duty.

The committee heard how the driver arranged to pick up two 13-year-old girls just before midnight on a Friday evening — despite not being on duty.

He was alleged to have been sending text messages to the girls and offering “free” rides to the youngsters.

He is no longer allowed to work as a private hire taxi driver.

Sgt John Boyce, from Bolton’s partnership and licensing team, said: “The motives of this driver were very questionable. The public has a right to expect that private hire drivers are of good character. In this particular case, the actions of the driver fell well short of that standard.”

This case follows that of private hire driver Riazuddin Malji’s unsuccessful challenge to overturn a decision made by Bolton Council to have his licence revoked last year.

Malji was found to not be a fit and proper person to be a private hire driver after he allegedly asked a 13-year-old passenger’s mobile phone number and asked if she liked smoking drugs.

Bolton magistrates upheld the decision of the council at the appeal hearing.

A MOTHER has spoken about the devastating injuries her teenage son suffered after he was pinned to a wall and his legs shattered by a car being driven dangerously.

Nizamuddin Patel, aged 36, of Saltwood Grove, Bolton, lost control of a Vauxhall Vectra and slammed into Spencer Aspinall in Bolton Road, Atherton.

The 16-year-old’s toe was cut off and his legs were so badly broken in the crash that when his mother Joanne Aspinall got to the scene, a policeman asked her to look for bits of bone in the road.

Now she wants to warn motorists about the impact the crash has had on her family and Spencer, now aged 18, who has had to undergo 11 operations since the crash on November 22, 2012.

She said: “When I see people speeding now it makes me so angry, if they could only see the damage it can do.

“We have moved in with my mum and dad because it is a bungalow and it is easier for Spencer to get around.

“Spencer used to play rugby and he loved modelling and acting but he can’t do that anymore.

“He is at Pendleton College studying performing arts, it has been his dream since he was three to be an actor. But he is talking about dropping out of college because he feels his disability will always hold him back.”

Patel, aged 36, was found guilty of dangerous driving and was jailed for 12 months.

He was also given a four-year driving ban at Liverpool Crown Court.

The crash happened one week before a law was introduced that could have seen Patel face a charge of dangerous driving causing serious injury and up to five years in prison.

One witness, Stephen Gaskell, told the court how he had been driving behind Patel in Bolton and saw him dangerously overtaking other cars and speeding.

Mrs Aspinall, aged 43, of Stanley Street, Atherton, added: “Without the witnesses there wouldn’t have had a case.

“He showed no remorse, all he cared about was getting cigarettes to his brother’s friends shop — even when my son was screaming on the side of the road.

“He chose to get in the car and drive that way and I hope his time in prison gives him time to reflect and think about it.”

A Scarred man who claims a racist knife attack has left him unemployable has had his benefits suspended.

Reece Johnson, aged 26, needed nearly 70 stitches when he was slashed on the side of his face while walking with his then five-year-old son.

The father-of-three, from Breightmet, was attacked in May, 2010 near to the entrance of Bobby Heywood Park in Great Lever, and says potential employers are put off by the scar on his cheek and neck.

Now the Department for Work and Pensions has suspended his Jobseeker’s Allowance — which he has claimed intermittently since the attack — because he has not been trying hard enough to find work.

The DWP said people must comply with rules for claims, or risk losing the benefits.

“I’ve been in the local paper and a national paper explaining the problems I am having, but it doesn’t seem to have made a difference,” said Mr Johnson.

“I don’t think what they did is right, especially when it was just before Christmas. All they told me was my search was not up to standards expected.

“They know I am struggling to find work because of what happened to me, and I have told them that I want a job to look after my family.”

Mr Johnson also said the Job Centre had not been particularly helpful. Every now and then when you sign on they pull you in for a meeting, but these are quite rare,” he said.

“I know I have a responsibility as well to make something happen, but I have made efforts to make people aware of what’s happening to me but the DWP doesn’t seem to take any notice.”

A DWP spokesman said: “It’s only right that people should do everything they can to find work in return for their benefits.

“We make the rules clear to people at the start of their claim and that they risk losing benefits if they don’t play by them.

“Sanctions are used only as a last resort and people in genuine need can apply for hardship payments. If someone disagrees with a decision made on their claim they can appeal.”

Mr Johnson was attacked by a group of 20 men, who he believes targeted him as a white man in revenge for the death of 19-year-old Seffar Khan, who died in the same park three years earlier.

Nobody has been charged with the attack on Mr Johnson.