A taxi driver faced criminal proceedings after refusing to take a fare because the customer was accompanied by an assistance dog.

Mohammed Ghazanfar Hussain, aged 44 and from Newport, acknowledged breaching the Equality Act 2010.

At Cwmbran Magistrates’ Court, it was disclosed that he declined to carry a disabled passenger on the grounds that the person would be accompanied by an assistance dog.

The incident took place in Newport on June 11 the previous year.

Hussain received a conditional discharge spanning 12 months and was ordered to pay £660.04 in costs together with a surcharge.

The defendant, who lives on Exeter Street in Newport, was brought to court by the local council.