A TAXI firm pulled up by Southampton's licensing bosses for breaking advertising sign size regulations by just half an inch has been granted a last-minute reprieve from a deadline inspection.

As reported in the Daily Echo, the owner of West Quay Cars, Dusty Miller, was given 24 hours to present all 25 vehicles in his fleet before city council inspectors by 2pm yesterday.

Mr Miller, who set up the business only two weeks ago to coincide with the opening of Southampton's new shopping complex, feared he would not be able to make the deadline and would fall foul of the licensing team.

But now the council has granted a stay of execution after giving their approval to a new set of advertising stickers printed for the rear windows of the cabs.

A council spokesman, who said the deadline had always been negotiable but they had simply not been approached by Mr Miller, told the Daily Echo: "The company has now spoken to city licensing officers and appropriate arrangements made for the inspection.

"As always, the council would have been flexible in making these arrangements and the matter could have been resolved with a phone call."

But Mr Miller, who runs a number of other cab firms in Eastleigh from his Hedge End base, greeted the news of the reprieve cautiously.

He said: "Actually, they had been contacted by my solicitors who are watching everything that is going on.

"We have now been told that we do not have to present the cars as long as we change all the stickers.

"Clearly they have been told to back off and that this has all been stupid. It seems to have been cleared up for the short term."