A FLEET of state-of-the-art taxis, designed to be fully accessible to disabled people, is hitting the streets of Warrington.

Two of a total of 15 vehicles have been out and about since the weekend, and the others will be on the road by the beginning of March.

The borough council has made 15 new hackney carriage plates available with a strict criteria that the cars must be fully accessible for wheelchairs and those with lesser mobility.

Taxi licensing officer Phil Barnes said: "This all started 12 months ago when members of the council said they didn't feel there were enough accessible taxis in the borough.

"Currently there are five accessible vehicles licensed in Warrington, but their drivers are owner operators so when people rang up they weren't always working.

"As well as the vehicles being accessible, the owners of these cars have also got to be private hire operators, therefore they take advanced bookings."

And Dave Thompson, disability services advisor for Warrington Community Health Care Trust, says that the new taxis are great news for Warrington. He ran a training day for the drivers to help them understand disability issues.

"It's excellent for the town," he said.

"Currently, Warrington Borough Transport is not fully up to speed with accessible vehicles because it is renewing its fleet bit by bit, and Dial-a-Ride doesn't have the capacity to run a fully complementary service.

"These taxis will be very much welcomed."

And he says that the information workshop proved valuable.

"At first there were 15 very apprehensive taxi drivers," said Dave, "but they all said it was a real eye-opener."