A CUSTOMER charter for taxi users in Darlington will include a warning to abusive passengers.

Members of Darlington Independent Taxi Traders' Association (Ditto) objected to the first draft of a charter proposed by Darlington Borough Council, which aimed to tell passengers what level of service they could expect.

They claimed it could encourage customers, particularly drunken ones, to become confrontational and aggressive.

Now the authority has drawn up a revised charter with the following warning: "Verbally abusive and physically aggressive customers present an unacceptable threat to the safety of drivers. These anti-social customers should not expect to be carried in a licensed vehicle and may be arrested by a police officer if they carry out a relevant offence."

John Buxton, the authority's director of development and environment, said: "Representatives from Ditto expressed opposition to the introduction of the charter and felt it was unnecessary, as both passengers and drivers knew the information already.

"They were concerned that the charter would encourage some members of the public to use the information to make their work more difficult and cause unnecessary confrontation.

"The second draft of the charter has been revised, taking account of the comments made."

The charter, which is backed by Darlington Taxi Owners' Association, will be displayed in all taxis.