MORE than 300 taxi and private hire car drivers in Poole are now trained to help protect the town's most vulnerable people, borough chiefs say.

BOP introduced mandatory safeguarding training for licensed taxi and private hire drivers in 2016. Since then some 336 drivers have completed the training, which includes disability awareness, how to support people with dementia, domestic abuse, mental health, child sexual exploitation, human trafficking and modern slavery.

Drivers who failed to complete the safeguarding training by April, this year, had their licences revoked.

Cllr John Rampton, environmental services portfolio holder at BOP said: "We want to ensure that every person using a taxi is as safe as possible. Taxi drivers who have undertaken the training will be more able to support vulnerable people or spot behaviour or patterns of abuse that should to be reported to the authorities.

"This has resulted in an improved taxi and private hire service for everyone in Poole.

"I am pleased that so many of our drivers have undertaken the safeguarding training and would like to thank them for their hard work."