A TAXI firm is under fire from a councillor who claims her elderly father was left stranded outside his home because the driver did not follow instructions to help him in.

Brian Scott, 87, was spotted struggling with his walking frame, alone in the dark, by a neighbour in Wivenhoe.

His Roman Cars and Coaches’ driver left with Mr Scott’s bag, which contained his house keys, still in the car, so he tried to walk to his daughter Rosalind’s house elsewhere in the town.

Ms Scott, Colchester councillor for Wivenhoe, is furious the firm ignored directions to help the pensioner.

She said: “A neighbour around the corner stepped in straight away and stayed with him for nearly two hours until the whole thing was solved.

“It was like a bush telegraph went across Wivenhoe to get hold of me but I was in a council meeting.

“In the meantime, the carers who usually come to help him walked into an empty house and got a terrible fright, and called police.

“It was a distressing incident.”

Eventually Ms Scott got the message about her dad being missing but also that he was subsequently found safe.

It is understood Roman Cars and Coaches does not ask its drivers to sweep cars for bags between jobs.

It is also understood the driver was not given the instruction to help Mr Scott to his door.

But Ms Scott, who has been reported to the council by the taxi firm after airing her grievances on Facebook, feels elderly passengers should be given more assistance.

She said: “The driver only had to take two steps to open the door.

“There was no excuse for not helping him automatically.

“I also don’t feel the company has taken on board how serious it is for a driver to be so careless.

“And it never acknowledged the driver should have helped.

“The one good thing that’s come out of this is it’s restored my dad’s faith in humanity.

“In fact, the next day he was really pleased to know everyone had been looking out for him.

“He’s only lived in Wivenhoe two years but feels part of the community.”

The matter has been reported to Colchester Council.

Ms Scott wants to use the incident to trigger an initiative for licensed taxi drivers to undergo dementia awareness training as part of their licence requirement.

This is on the agenda for the next Colchester Council licensing committee meeting on Wednesday.

John Moss, manager of Roman Cars and Coaches, said he is not prepared to comment until the report from Colchester Council has been finalised investigating the incident and Ms Scott’s conduct on Facebook.