Sportswear – including Preston North End shirts, baseball caps and flip-flops - are all on a hitlist of items which drivers could be banned from wearing.

Female drivers are advised not to wear short skirts "for personal safety reasons," while men should not drive bare-chested.

Instead, drivers will be advised to wear shirts, blouses, T-shirts or sweatshirts with trousers, tailored shorts or long skirts.

The plans, which could form part of a new Preston Council licensing policy, were given a mixed reception by drivers.

Dressed in smart trousers, shirt and tie, Hackney driver, David Coke, 60, said: "I dress smartly for work – I have always done.

"But in the summer months, when it's warmer, I don't mind wearing a pair of shorts. I just like to be presentable. A shirt and tie is my style."

Peter Modashia, a 57-year-old cabbie from Fishwick, said: "I think people should wear a proper smart dress. Some people just wear shorts – it looks horrible."

Mick Rooney, managing director of Ribbleton Taxis in Chatsworth Street, Ribbleton, said the council should go one step further and ask drivers to wear a uniform.

He said: "They should have to wear a black or blue blazer with the Preston insignia on it, black or blue pants, and a white shirt and a tie because they are representing the city."

The licensing policy will also deal with issues including new age limits on vehicles and the knowledge test for drivers.

Other recommendations include an age limit for vehicles of 10-years-old and requiring existing drivers to obtain a relevant training qualification by 2011.

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