AN insulin-dependent diabetic has criticised council chiefs after a dispute over his taxi licence, insisting he is fit enough to drive for a living.

Dennis Walton, from Darlington, stopped driving his taxi more than five years ago, after he started using insulin to control his condition.

The 57-year-old claims he is being denied the chance to work and says he has been unable to renew his Hackney carriage licence with Darlington Borough Council. Mr Walton receives no benefits and has lived off his savings since his taxi expired.

Although he claims his licence was revoked, the council insists this is not the case and Mr Walton’s licence was simply not renewed when it expired in January 2008.

He stopped paying council tax in protest at being unable to work, running up hundreds of pounds of arrears, resulting in court cases being brought against him and bailiffs visiting his home.

In November 2011, the DVLA removed a ban on insulin users driving passenger-carrying vehicles and people can undergo individual medical assessments to prove their fitness.

Mr Walton, who takes insulin twice a day, believes his condition is sufficiently well managed to enable him to meet all relevant medical criteria.

The Department for Transport recommends that these medical guidelines be adopted by local authorities when deciding whether to grant licences for taxi drivers, although the responsibility for determining these standards lies with individual councils.

Mr Walton said: “The council said they don’t care who says I can drive my taxi, they say I can’t.

“I could easily satisfy the necessary criteria, no problems whatsoever.

“But they don’t care if my doctor says I am fit to work, they say I can’t and that is the end of the story.

“They have put me out of work and taken away my living, when there was every opportunity to allow me to continue.”

Mr Walton says all he wants is to be able to work again and has sought legal advice in an effort to advance his cause, but he has not been able to find a law firm willing to take up his case.

A council spokeswoman said: “In 2006, our licensing committee decided drivers with insulin-dependent diabetes could drive licensed vehicles.

“The driver would need to produce a medical report stating they had not suffered a hypoglycaemic episode while driving and that they had a history of responsible diabetic control.

“The driver would need to produce an updated report every year when they renewed their licence.

“The licensing committee can revoke a licence if the report is not satisfactory. Mr Walton's licence was not revoked; [it] expired and was not renewed.”