TAXI and private hire drivers across Sedgemoor have been given training in Safeguarding vulnerable adults and children to help prevent Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE), a crime which perpetrators groom youngsters and sexually and emotionally abuse them.

Independent inquiries into recent high profile CSE cases have identified that taxi and private hire vehicles were used, by the perpetrators of the crimes, to transport their victims.

The council has given the training so taxi drivers can spot the signs of CSE and know how to report it.

Sedgemoor District Council has said it is committed to keeping its residents safe and has made safeguarding training compulsory for all new drivers licensed by Sedgemoor District Council.

Existing drivers have also received the training via free workshops.

Customers of Sedgemoor’s taxis can be assured that their driver understands the importance of safeguarding and how to deal with vulnerable passengers or situations that may arise.

The training has taken the form of free workshops organised by the Council and will help raise awareness of safeguarding in order to protect both drivers and passengers.

The two and a half hour workshops were designed and developed to give all drivers an overview of how safeguarding can involve the taxi trade, what child sexual exploitation is, what Human Trafficking is, an insight into the trends used by the perpetrators and to give drivers the knowledge and confidence to report concerns.