A Newcastle-under-Lyme licensed hackney driver has been fined after admitting he took a street hail on Stoke-on-Trent turf on Boxing Day — a short hop from the bet365 Stadium that put him outside the area he was allowed to ply for hire.
Dilshad Ahmed, 46, of Rustington Avenue, Longton, appeared at North Staffordshire Justice Centre on Monday 5 October and admitted the offence, which happened on 26 December 2025. He holds a hackney carriage driver licence from neighbouring Newcastle Borough Council, not from Stoke-on-Trent City Council, magistrates heard (Stoke Sentinel; Express & Star).
What the court was told
Prosecuting for Stoke-on-Trent City Council, Ms Round said Ahmed was plying for hire outside his licensed district at a temporary matchday stop at Trentham Lakes Junction. A passenger waved him down; Ahmed stopped and said the car was free. Asked for Bench and Bar in Fenton, he quoted £15 and told the man to “jump in mate”.
The passenger noticed the taxi meter was off. After a call from friends he cancelled the trip. Ahmed said the £15 would still be due because he had to “go all the way back”. The passenger then reported the incident to Newcastle Borough Council.
The prosecutor said the man had been distressed: he relies heavily on public transport and expects a taxi driver to work within the law and not overcharge. Because Ahmed was plying for hire outside his licensing area, his insurance would have been void — leaving him driving uninsured. Switching the meter off and heading back toward the temporary taxi bay, she argued, showed intent to keep working the stop.
Ahmed apologised. He said he had dropped a customer there, that people came to him, that it was a mistake and would not happen again, and asked for a chance because he has a family.
Magistrates fined him £250, plus a £100 surcharge and £851 costs — about £1,200 in all.
Why the boundary matters
Hackney carriages can only ply for hire in the district that licensed them. Working a Stoke matchday bay on a Newcastle badge is not a paperwork nicety: it is illegal street work, and prosecutors say it also blows insurance cover. That is the same basic rule that underpins other out-of-area enforcement across England — from Lancaster’s station licensing checks to undercover roadside pick-ups elsewhere.
For drivers on the Potteries fringe, the practical message is blunt. A Newcastle plate does not buy a Stoke City matchday rank. Temporary stadium stops still sit inside Stoke-on-Trent’s licensing area — and passengers who feel overcharged or unsafe will call the councils.