A Kent pub landlord has been banned from driving customers home in his black cab after council officials ruled the charity service required a private hire licence.
Paul Hartfield, owner of the Flying Horse in Smarden, had given around 100 patrons lifts home in exchange for donations since November, raising at least £700 in voluntary donations for the Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Association.
He chose the charity after one of his regulars was diagnosed with the condition.
Ashford Borough Council stepped in on Friday after a local newspaper reported on the initiative.
Although Mr Hartfield made no personal profit, licensing officers said the vehicle counted as a “private hire vehicle” and warned that “commercial benefit” could still arise, even without direct payment.
The pub owner told The Telegraph: “It’s mean-spirited that we are doing this for charity and I’m not quite sure what I’m going to do, to be honest.”
He added: “With the Government increasing business rates and rising costs, it just feels like it’s all going against us pubs at the moment.”
Under the scheme, customers booking a table at the 18th-century pub were asked whether they needed a lift home and invited to donate to the MND Association.
Ashford Borough Council stepped in on Friday after a local newspaper reported on the initiative
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Mr Hartfield said the arrangement was “like a friend giving another friend a lift home.”
Regular Paul Upton, 55, lambasted the council’s decision as “utterly ridiculous”.
“It is just bizarre, it’s complete nonsense,” he fumed.
“This is a guy who has put himself out, he’s bought the car with his own money, he’s bought the petrol and he pays for his own insurance.”
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Paul Hartfield owns the Flying Horse pub in Smarden
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He dismissed the authority’s intervention as “pure jobsworth nonsense”.
Mr Hartfield, a former black cab garage owner, bought the vehicle after taking over the pub from his daughter Natasha, hoping to strengthen its community focus.
The cab had previously participated in the village’s Christmas Tractor Run, adorned with festive lights, helping raise nearly £7,000 for motor neurone disease research.
The row comes as the hospitality sector faces mounting pressure.
Mr Hartfield bought the vehicle after taking over the pub from his daughter Natasha (file photo)
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UKHospitality has warned pubs could see business rates rise by 15 per cent in 2026.
The figure amounts to an extra £7,000 a year for British boozers’ bills by 2028/29.
Campaign for Real Ale figures show 212 pubs have announced closures since January – an average of four per day.
GB News has approached Ashford Borough Council for comment.