Drivers were randomly stopped on the streets of Preston on Friday night during the eight-hour clampdown.

Police escorted the cars to the Preston Bus vehicle testing station in Deepdale, where council enforcement staff made safety and licensing checks.

Insurance and tax checks were carried out by police and a total of 13 vehicles were stopped.

Preston Council took action against five cars in total, issuing three stop notices suspending the vehicles from the road, and three defect notices requiring drivers to correct problems within a certain time.

One of the cars was issued with a stop notice and a defect notice.

Keith Heyworth, of Preston Council, said: "It is good that we have been able to identify the vehicles that needed servicing, it meant the stop checks were very much worthwhile.

"Obviously, we would be very happy if we had had 13 vehicles in and they had all gone through without an issue."

Michael Dobson, of the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA), issued four delayed prohibitions, warning drivers to get defects fixed within a set time and three immediate prohibitions, taking taxis off the road.

He said one of the taxis had a completely detached floor section while two others had tyre defects.

Mike Thorpe, head of licensing at Preston Council, said the checks were part of the council's duty to regulate the 187 Hackney Carriage and 400 private hire trades in the city.

He said: "The public expects safe vehicles and drivers to provide an efficient and effective service.

"In addition to these vehicle examination and tests, the council's licensing enforcement officers undertake their own random inspection of vehicles at taxi ranks and on the general highway."

Last year, a total of 536 random inspections took place.

And during last year's six stop and inspect checks, VOSA issued 17 prohibition notices to drivers and vehicle proprietors.

A further 34 stop notices were issued by the council, also suspending the vehicles from the road.

In 2007/08, 27.6% of vehicles randomly inspected had a defect, while 6.3% were deemed serious enough to be issued a stop notice.