YORK Magistrates believed a former policeman when he told them he had seen a private hire driver picking passengers up in the street.

But they cleared Erkan Dogan of breaking the terms of his licence because they said City of York Council hadn't proved that the four racegoers had paid to be carried from Gillygate to the junction of Knavesmire Road and Tadcaster Road.

In their judgement, they said: "On that technicality we find there is no case to answer."

Mr Dogan, 46, of Middleham Avenue, York, who can only carry fares that have been prebooked through his York company, denied a charge of plying for fares on the street.

Ex-policeman turned council licensing officer Nigel Woodhead told them he was walking down Gillygate at lunchtime on the last day of last year's Ebor meeting, when he saw four men in suits with race badges ahead of him and Mr Dogan's car in a queue of traffic moving towards Bootham Bar.

"I saw the private hire car serve to the nearside and stop. The driver leant across to the passenger seat and spoke to one of the four gentlemen," he said.

The racegoer called to his friends who were slightly ahead of him, all four got into the vehicle and it drove off past the junction with Bootham, said Mr Woodhead.

Mr Dogan told a council investigator later that the four had got into the vehicle without his consent and he had not been able to get them out until he reached the junction of Knavesmire Road and Tadcaster Road. He denied he had been paid for the journey.

Magistrates said in their judgement on a defence application to throw the case out: "Although Mr Woodhead's evidence was credible ..... he didn't hear any of the words exchanged between the parties, and consequently 'plying for hire' has not been proved."

The court heard Mr Dogan had no booking for the journey and didn't officially start work until 1.45pm.