DURHAM City Council is pressing ahead with a taxi colour rule despite the opposition of cabbies.

All new Hackney vehicles will have to be white, including the nine licences that are being issued as part of the deregulation of the industry.

Hackney operators opposed to the move staged a protest strike after the Euro 2004 England against Portugal match.

They say white is used in neighbouring Easington and Sunderland and that will make it harder to identify Durham-licensed cabs if there are problems.

They also say white vehicles are hard to obtain, that resprays will add to their costs, that deregulation will cost existing operators business and that their views have been ignored.

The council is concerned that there are not enough cabs to clear the city's taxi ranks of weekend revellers in the early hours and that there are not enough vehicles that can carry disabled people - the nine new licences will be for cabs with disabled access.

Dave Stewart, the council's senior transportation engineer, said the colour rule was primarily for the safety of the travelling public and would offer easier identification of legitimate cabs.

"Quite a lot of other authorities have done it and have seen it as advantageous,'' he said.

"Sunderland, Chester-le-Street and Easington, which border each other, all have white and it hasn't been a problem for them.''

He said the new policies would be a big step forward for passengers, particularly the increase from two to 11 disabled-access cabs.

Phil Bell, chairman of Durham Taxi Association, said: "I should think we'll be fighting this.''

He said legal challenges to colour code policies had been successful in other areas, adding: "We are consulting our solicitor''.

Mr Bell said: "White is one of the hardest colours to get hold of now, it is a colour that has faded out. Respraying can cost between £700 and £1,200 and it is another expense for us.''

Labour councillors have criticised the authority's move and proposed silver, which the taxi drivers preferred.

Labour leader Councillor David Bell said: "I proposed silver but no way would they accept it.

"At this time we need the taxi drivers on board for the sake of the vibrancy of the city.'