DISABLED people in Darlington can travel in style in the town's first wheelchair-accessible taxi.

Station Taxis has bought a £20,000 Peugeot E7 to carry wheelchair-users.

The vehicle is accessible for all types of wheelchairs and is a big improvement on the vans the company used to use to pick up disabled customers.

It was bought after consultation with Darlington Borough Council and Darlington Association on Disability (Dad), which has campaigned for better vehicles.

The association's chairman, Gordon Pybus, said he was delighted.

"It's the way forward for the future. It is a proper vehicle which drops people off on the pavement, not in the middle of the road like the van," he said.

"Many thanks to the council and Station Taxis for their help and support and we look forward to welcoming more vehicles of this type to the town."

Station Taxis' drivers will undergo training through Dad to ensure they follow health and safety procedures when helping disabled users.

Steve Leonard, from Station Taxis, said: "We are delighted to welcome this new addition to our fleet and another one will be joining it in the next few weeks. The vehicle will enable us to treat disabled and able-bodied customers on a more equal level."