A DEFIANT Southampton cabbie last night vowed to defy a council ban on “racist” window stickers.

Father-of-two Darren Busby is thought to have been one of the first drivers in the city to display a sticker in his car stating he is an “English speaking driver” two years ago. Now he says he has no intention of taking it down.

Council bosses last night said drivers displaying any sticker or signs had seven days to remove them or they would have their licence suspended.

But Darren called the ban “farcical” and said he would continue to display his sticker.

He said: “The sticker will stay in my car until the council can come up with a good enough reason for me to take it out.”

Daily Echo: Click below to see a video of today's headlines in sixty seconds

The 40-year-old from Bitterne Park added: “I originally printed out a flyer to put in my car saying ‘English driver’ two years ago and I have displayed one ever since.

“The reason I did it was because there were customers looking up and down lines of taxis looking for drivers who were not of ethnic minority origin.

“I hear horror stories every single night of customers who have been ripped off, taken the long route to their destinations, and in some cases been dropped off in the middle of nowhere because their drivers didn’t know where they were going.”

Taxi trade representatives, councillors and anti-racism groups, have branded the stickers racist and said they had upset some of their ethnic minority members.

But Darren, a cabbie for nine years, insisted displaying the stickers was not racist but instead “sent a message”

to customers that drivers would provide a good service.

He said: “It is not about race relations at all, it’s about providing a good service to customers.

“There are some really good drivers in Southampton who are from an Asian or other foreign backgrounds.

“Unfortunately there are also some that are letting everyone down and giving taxi drivers a bad name.”