Knifepoint robberies of taxi drivers have sparked a call for cabs to be fitted with CCTV cameras

Cabbies approached the Telegraph as part of a move to lobby the local authority to assess the feasibility of installing surveillance equipment as a safety measure.

Councils elsewhere — including in South Lanarkshire — have already launched pilot schemes with cameras in cars in response to concerns about attacks on drivers.

Now Inverclyde Council says it is ready to look at the possibility of having a similar project here if 'sufficient demand' is shown from within the trade.

One taxi driver told the Telegraph: "Nationally we have an epidemic, namely COVID-19, but locally we have another epidemic with taxi drivers being threatened with knives and also passengers fleeing from the cab to avoid paying the fare.

"Local cabs need fitted with CCTV immediately."

Another driver said: "We are already taking risks every day just by being out and trying to earn a crust during coronavirus, but we're also facing the risk of being attacked.

"But I think it might take someone being hurt, or worse, before anything is done to give us some added protection and peace of mind."

The Tele reported last month how two separate early hours knifepoint robberies were carried out against cabbies in Port Glasgow.

Two men, Michael Glancy, 35, and Lee Gray, 37, have been charged with committing them and have been locked up following court appearances.

The drivers involved were left 'badly shaken' by their ordeals.

South Lanarkshire Council launched its pilot taxi CCTV scheme in March.

An Inverclyde taxi driver said: "Other local authorities have cabs fitted with CCTV, so why has Inverclyde Council not given the green light for local cabs to be fitted with cameras?"

The local authority says that a consultation about taxi CCTV was carried out in 2018 but the policy was not developed 'due to a lack of interest and demand'.

A council spokesman said: "Just one response was received.

“We have not had any recent requests about the use of CCTV to prompt re-evaluating the issue.

"Should CCTV be introduced in taxis in future, the onus would be on taxi operators to register with the Information Commissioner to ensure the system and any footage collected adheres to data protection laws and respects people's privacy.

"The council takes the safety of drivers extremely seriously and is open to revisiting the idea of CCTV in taxis should anyone wish to raise the matter and if there is sufficient demand."