TAXI drivers are losing trade because delivery drivers are blocking the rank to use it as a loading bay, a hackney carriage driver has said.

Norman Bailey, of Albourne Taxis, believes visitors are being put off coming to Marlborough because it is getting more difficult to pick up a taxi from the rank.

The space is often used as a temporary unloading bay for lorries delivering to shops and pubs on the High Street.

Now frustrated taxi drivers have taken their issue to the head of Wiltshire Council by lobbying Baroness Jane Scott. Six businesses have signed a petition citing the “continuing problem we are experiencing on a regular basis by private and commercial vehicles.”

They want more robust parking enforcement in the area to target drivers sitting in the taxi rank and using it for deliveries.

Mr Bailey, 64, of Stock Lane near Aldbourne, said: “It is our livelihood at the end of the day, we believe this illegal parking is having a detrimental impact on our businesses. We pay Wiltshire Council a licence to operate in a certain area and it’s not fair that they aren’t providing the services, like a free rank, that we require. You see Wiltshire council wardens who are very robust with giving out tickets, but people in the town get to know what areas they don’t check and know they can park there.

“A taxi driver might have jobs throughout the day but in order to pick up extra work he would want to be able to sit in the rank. People in Marlborough complain about not being able to get a taxi as well, so it’s a wider problem. If we can’t park in the rank we can’t offer the service.

“It forces us to sit on double yellow lines, which in itself is illegal.”

Taxi drivers have to pay £253 every three years to licence their cars, and undergo criminal back ground checks at their own cost as part of the application process. John Lowe, of Arrow Taxis added: “I have sympathy for the vans drivers as there is nowhere for them to go. It is the car drivers which park there that is the problem, especially at night when there are no traffic wardens.”

The petition has been signed by firms that provide services in Marlborough and has asked the council to address the abuse of the rank both during the day and at night.

A Wiltshire Council spokesperson said: “We would always encourage people to contact us if there is a specific issue. The new parking arrangements recently agreed include body-worn cameras, which should help improve the way we enforce parking.”