Taxi drivers in the Cherwell District Council area were considering going on strike this weekend, if a meeting with council chief executive Mary Harpley proves unsatisfactory.

The council has announced plans to increase the number of cab licences issued.

Silkandar Hayat, chairman of Cherwell Valley Hackney Association, is meeting Ms Harpley today.

Driver Steve Lal, 52, of Bicester, said: "We're prepared to strike if we have to. We will know more after our chairman has spoken with the chief executive."

There are 83 Hackney licences in Cherwell. The Hackney association said the council's licensing department could not cope with the amount issued now and that there would be an even greater problem if the number of licences given out increased.