AN UBER driver has been arrested after a woman was allegedly sexually assaulted in York.

North Yorkshire Police say officers are investigating a report of sexual assault in Harington Avenue, off Melrosegate, Tang Hall, between 1.35am and 2am on June 23.

A spokesman said a 60-year-old man from the Bradford area had been arrested.

"He has been released under investigation while inquiries continue," said a spokesman.

He added that the alleged victim was being supported by specialist officers.

City of York Council said it had passed on an alert about what had allegedly happened to Bradford Council, which had licensed the driver.

"Bradford acted swiftly and suspended the driver," said a spokesman. "That means he’s no longer allowed to work anywhere, including York."

He added that the nature of the allegation required police to investigate and it would be for Bradford Council to make a licensing decision in terms of a man being a fit and proper person to drive a taxi.

A Bradford Council spokesman said: “This is a police matter and we would not comment about individual cases.

“Bradford Council’s policy is that any driver licensed to operate Hackney Carriages or Private Hire cabs by the authority would be immediately suspended if they were under police investigation for an allegation of sexual assault.

"The suspension would last until the outcome of the investigation.”

A spokesman for Uber said: “We were shocked to hear about this horrific allegation and our thoughts are with the alleged victim.

"As soon as we were made aware we immediately stopped this licensed private hire driver from being able to use our app.

"While this allegation does not relate to a trip booked through our app, we have offered to help the police in any way we can.”

The spokesman added: “The driver was not using the app at the time of the incident.

"He had worked earlier that night but was not online at the time of the alleged incident. 

“Before a driver can use the Uber app, they must get a private hire licence which involves going through the same enhanced DBS background check as black cab drivers and teachers.”