Council bans ex-soldier displaying army charity sticker in his taxi

Bob Turner, 52, was forced to remove the small sticker from his private hire car after Harrogate Borough Council said it contravened regulations.

Mr Turner served in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers for six years in the 1970s and 1980s, seeing action in Northern Ireland.

The ex-soldier climbed Scafell Pike two years ago, raising £900 for the charity with sponsorship from friends and customers in his home town of Ripon.

Mr Turner said: “The inspector was very sympathetic, but he told me that I had been reported by a councillor and had to remove the sticker.

“It is so petty, they could have ignored it. It beggars belief really.”

Council rules say that only stickers referring to the taxi company or the licence can be displayed.

“I haven’t had any option but to remove it,” said Mr Turner.

“The council makes these rules and I have got to abide by those rules or I will lose my licence.

“If it had been a football sticker, or had been advertising something I could understand it, but it’s a very important charity.

“I watched the homecoming parade through Ripon when they came back from Afghanistan last year.

“I was in tears to see the lads in wheelchairs, knowing they had lost men as well.”

Fellow taxi driver Richard Fieldman, Chairman of the Ripon Taxi Association, said: “I attend meeting with the council every month and just lately there had been a massive campaign against vehicles with signs.

“It’s a charity so it’s not nice to ask him to remove it, but I do agree that signs have to be approved, otherwise it gets out of hand.”

A spokeswoman for Harrogate Borough Council confirmed Mr Turner had been asked to remove the sticker, but said the rules had been applied “equally and fairly.”

She said: “The officer approached this as gently as he could, appreciating this is a difficult issue.

“Indeed the officer concerned personally displays the Help for Heroes sticker in his own car and also wears the wrist band.”

Section 2.2.7 of the Harrogate Borough Council hackney carriage and private hire vehicle rules and regulations states that a licence can only be issued if “all windows are clear of stickers with approved exceptions”.

The Help for Heroes charity, which was launched in October 2007, provides financial support to British service personnel who have seen action since September 11, 2001.

Last month, 11 former Marines raised £20,000 for the charity by climbing the 3,209ft Scafell Pike, in the Lake District, with seven stone washing machines strapped to their backs.

Meanwhile, councillors in Calderdale have pledged to sign a “Community Covenant” to provide more support for armed forces personnel.

The Covenant, part of a £30m Government initiative, will help soldiers find suitable housing, education and health care.

Calderdale Council leader Janet Battye said: “We must make sure that if services personnel and their families need help then it will be made available.”

The 3rd Battalion of the Yorkshire Regiment, formerly the Duke of Wellington’s, is likely to be deployed on operations in Afghanistan in the summer of 2012, their first tour in since 2005.