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A pub landlord who offered punters lifts home in his black cab has been banned by the local council from providing the service.
Paul Hartfield, who owns the Flying Horse in Smarden in Ashford, Kent, has raised hundreds of pounds for charity by asking customers to make small donations to the Motor Neurone Disease Association for using his cab.
He did not make a profit from the taxi service, which he hoped would help punters get home safely, and chose the charity because one of his regulars had been diagnosed with the disease.
Mr Hartfield had raised at least £700 and drove around 100 customers homes since he started providing the free rides in November last year.
But Ashford Borough Council decided to shut the not-for-profit service down on Friday after a local newspaper article highlighted the landlord’s charitable work, according to reports.
Mr Hartfield was told by the authority’s licensing team that he was subject to ‘requirements for local authority licensing’ because his black cab was a ‘private hire vehicle’ – despite the landlord not personally benefitting financially.
He explained that customers of The Flying Horse – which dates back to 1790 – were simply asked to make a charitable donation for using the taxi.
But a council official reportedly wrote back, telling him a person can ‘be said to derive commercial benefit’ – even if a payment isn’t made to him.
Pub landlord Paul Hartfield, who runs The Flying Horse in Smarden, near Ashford, Kent
The black cab helped to raise at least £700 for charity
Mr Hartfield told The Telegraph: ‘It’s mean-spirited that we are doing this for charity and I’m not quite sure what I’m going to do, to be honest.
‘With the Government increasing business rates and rising costs, it just feels like it’s all going against us pubs at the moment.’
Flying Horse customer Paul Upton told the newspaper the council’s decision was ‘pure jobsworth nonsense’.
Mr Hartfield previously said of his taxi: ‘I bought it especially for the pub. I used to own a black cab garage, so I know cabs.
‘This pub has done a lot for charity, and we have some great customers in the village. There are a lot of lovely people who come here.
‘So, when they ring up and book a table, I ask them if they want a lift home. And if they say yes, they make a donation to charity.’
The Flying Horse had previously been run by Mr Hartfield’s daughter Natasha before he took over.
He said the aim of the taxi service was to keep the pub’s ‘community-first’ spirit alive.
Mr Hartfield said the council’s decision to put a stop to the service was ‘mean-spirited’
‘This pub has done a lot for charity, and we have some great customers in the village,’ Mr Hartfield said.
‘There are a lot of lovely people who come here.’
The pub owner had also been known to pick customers up from their homes.
The cab previously took part in the village Tractor Run just before Christmas, decked out in Christmas lights, alongside dozens of tractors, which raised almost £7,000 for motor neurone disease.
Mr Hartfield had plans to raise money for the MND Association for a six-month period before choosing a new charity.
But those plans will have been thwarted after the council’s ban.
An Ashford borough council spokesman reportedly told The Telegraph it was in discussions with the publican.
The Daily Mail has approached Ashford Borough Council for further comment.
