Taxi drivers have been accused of leaving people stranded in the city late at night as they "cherry-pick bumper fares".

Nicole Humphreys told The Argus that she was fobbed off by more than half a dozen cabbies in Brighton at 3am on February 4 after a night out.

The 50-year-old said the taxi driver at the front of a rank near Burger King on King’s Road told her: “No love, I’m waiting for someone else.”

She approached “six or seven” hackney carriages only to be told they were waiting for someone else or to “get the one in front”.

One of the cabbies told the 50-year-old, who was trying to get to Hove Street, that his colleagues "don’t want to take you on a short journey".

Nicole was with her sister, husband and daughter - who had just turned 18 - but says things would have been much worse if she had been alone. 

She said: “I went up to the taxi rank on my own, so they wouldn’t have known I was with a group of people.

"What if this had been my daughter? What if this had been a person who was on their own? That’s my main concern.

“They have an element of responsibility to get people home safely.”

Nicole gave up on the hackney carriage service and booked an Uber instead - although she is concerned as not everyone has access to the taxi app. 

The following day, Nicole contacted Brighton and Hove City Council, which regulates the city’s taxis.

A council spokesman said: “Taxi drivers licensed to stand for hire at a taxi rank must – when at the front of the rank – take the first person or group who asks to be transported.

"Failure to do so could leave the driver at risk of having their licence withdrawn.

“People unhappy with the conduct of a taxi driver should raise their concerns with the taxi company in the first instance. 

"If they feel your complaint is sufficiently serious, they will refer your complaint to our hackney carriage office.

“If a person is not satisfied with the response from the taxi operator, or they have a complaint about a taxi operator, please contact us about taxis via our website.

"This form can also be used if you have hailed a taxi from a rank and your complaint is about, among other things, a driver's behaviour. 

“We investigate all incidents of alleged misconduct by taxi drivers when we are given the information we need in order to do so – including the taxi number and/or the licence plate of the vehicle.”