14 December 2001
A judge, two magistrates, three members of the court council, an usher, two solicitors and 20 people from the press bench and public gallery trooped out to the car park in front of Newcastle Crown Court to decide which of two taxis parked side by side was the blackest.
The case between driver Khalid Hussain and the council had been brought after Hussain was refused a cab licence. Council rules allow only cars of a particular type of black to be classified as Hackney carriages. Hussain's, it said, did not fit the bill.
He appealed and the matter was dealt with by Newcastle County Court. Judge David Wood deliberated for 40 minutes before he decided that Hussain's cab was, indeed, black enough.
PFdec2001
