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Delta Taxis vowed to fight Liverpool council in court after the local authority revoked their licence to operate in the city.

The company was issued with a new private hire operator’s licence on November 18 to enable them to take fares in the city.

But a condition of this was there had to be a dedicated telephone booking line for Liverpool, separate from the firm’s Sefton operation.

Now the authority says it has become aware that the Liverpool booking number is not operational and the only way bookings can be made is through a phone app.

Read more: Delta Taxis' licence to operate in Liverpool revoked by council

Furthermore, it says the firm’s Liverpool registered vehicles have door signs which only refer to the app and do not advertise the Liverpool number.

Liverpool cabbies have been at war with the Bootle-based private hire firm, which intends to open a Liverpool office.

Mayor Joe Anderson gave his backing to claims that taxi giant Delta was unfairly “saturating” Liverpool and taking a living away from city-registered drivers.

A Liverpool council spokesman said: “In view of the breach of the condition the decision has been made to revoke the licence.

“Delta have 21 days to appeal to the magistrates’ court against this decision.

“They will be able to continue to operate in the city during this time.”

Cabbies in Liverpool have long been infuriated by Delta drivers ‘taking fares’ in the city.

Delta had intended to take advantage of a relaxation in regulations and open up an office in the city centre.

But tonight, the firm said they would fight back.

In a statement, the taxi company said: “Having just received a notice of revocation of private hire operator’s licence from Liverpool city council our legal team have now been instructed to appeal this decision through the appropriate judicial channels.

“Both our Sefton and Liverpool operations remain entirely lawful – something we are extremely confident of being able to establish firmly through the courts over the coming months.

“In the meantime, whilst the appeal remains ongoing, nothing changes for any of us – it’s business as usual for all of our drivers and customers.

Jimmy Bradley, spokesman for Liverpool’s Taxi Alliance told the ECHO: “The fight’s still not over for the taxi alliance.

“Joe Anderson has supplied a victory for common sense and the Taxi Alliance and the combined private and hackney hire trade in Liverpool appreciate the direct intervention of the mayor and the mayoral team."