A TAXI driver convicted of beating up a teenager has failed in his bid to get his licence back.

Worcester City Council's Licensing Committee has rejected the application by Asif Saleem to drive again in the city following his imprisonment for the attack on 19-year-old Samuel Anderson early on New Year's Day 2001.

The committee met in private on Monday night to decide on the fate of Saleem, who was sentenced to four months' imprisonment by a judge at Hereford Crown Court in January.

The jury had convicted him of causing actual bodily harm.

Julian Pugh, senior licensing and enforcement officer for Worcester City Council, confirmed the committee's decision meant that Saleem would not be able to work in the city as a taxi driver for the next three years.

Margaret Anderson, Samuel's mum, welcomed the decision.

"I am pleased that he won't be allowed to work as a taxi driver in Worcester in the foreseeable future," she said.

"What he did to my son shows he is not a fit person to deal with members of the public."

Mrs Anderson, who lives in Perry Barr, Birmingham, said she and her husband Sam were disgusted by the behaviour of Saleem and other taxi drivers after her son was beaten up at The Cross.

At the time, she accused them of "hunting our son like a fox".

Samuel, who was 18 at the time of the attack, used to frequent Worcester for nights out with friends who lived in Worcestershire. But he has had difficulty coming to terms with the assault.