A PRIVATE hire driver’s attempt to regain his private hire licence was quashed after he was suspended for allegedly assaulting one of his passengers.

Daniel Hughes appealed the decision made by Glasgow City Council’s licensing board to immediately suspend his licence after police made the committee aware of the alleged incident which took place on New Year’s Day.

The 56-year-old denied the charge against him at the licensing board.

However members decided to uphold their original decision.

Mr Hughes was charged for allegedly assaulting a man on New Year’s Day after the passenger was sick in his car at about 2am on January 1.

The police report of the incident said that the male passenger, who was accompanied by two female passengers, became unwell and was sick into his hands.

But some of the sick fell on the car’s interior.

Mr Hughes then shouted at the male and demanded that he pay £50 to cover the clean-up cost.

The sick passenger offered to clean the mess but Mr Hughes refused.

The report goes on to say the car was stopped after the passenger refused to pay the cost of cleaning the car and then got out - saying to the people he was with that he still felt unwell.

It was then Mr Hughes allegedly got out of the car, pushed the passenger over and kneeled on the passenger’s chest and punched him on the face.

Then, after other passengers restrained him, he went back to his car, retrieved a metal flask and allegedly struck the sick passenger to the left side of his face.

After the incident Mr Hughes drove away from the scene.

The male passenger attended hospital the following day where he was informed he had suffered from concussion as a result of the incident.

After a police investigation, Mr Hughes was charged with assault.

Although he has been charged, he has not been convicted with the case still to go before the courts.

The committee voted by five to two to suspend his licence for the time he had left on his three year licence.

A spokesman for Glasgow City Council said: “The Licensing Committee has a responsibility to ensure the safety of passengers using licensed vehicles.”