Just four of the 18 vehicles passed the test. The other 14 were suspended and had their Pendle Council taxi plates taken away there and then.

And Pendle Council's taxi chief, Coun. Allan Buck, said he was "shocked" by the results.

All but one of the vehicles were private hire cars – there was just one hackney carriage.

The operation was carried out by Pendle Council's taxi licensing officers, accompanied by Lancashire Constabulary Road Policing Unit and VOSA, the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency.

A Pendle Council spokeswoman said: "The main reasons were tyres, steering and brakes. The majority of the necessary work was done that evening or the following day and they were back on the road. Only one remained off the road.

"A full report is going to the April meeting of the council's Taxi Licensing Committee. Coun. Allan Buck, the council's Executive member responsible for taxi licensing, has arranged a meeting with the Pendle Taxi Drivers' Association to discuss the issues on March 27th.

"Last year, spot checks were carried out in Barnoldswick and Colne. The licensing committee made it clear they wanted to carry out spot checks at least three times a year."

Coun. Buck said: "When I saw this, I was shocked. This is just poor quality maintenance and servicing. There are tests regularly, but we have got more spot checks scheduled. We are determined to improve the quality of taxis here in Pendle.

"If it means taking more vehicles off the road, we will rigorously do that."

Coun. Buck said he planned to meet with the borough's hackney carriage and private representatives to find out what action they were going to take to stop this embarrassing failure happening again.

He said: "These vehicles are carrying members of the public who expect to have a safe journey."

Mr Mohammed Akram, chairman of the Pendle Taxi Operators' Association, said: "Taxis all have the same problems across the country. We are doing what we can and we are co-operative.

"Taxis are on the road 24 hours a day and always things will go wrong. But safety is the priority. We always advise our members to maintain their vehicles to the standards required by the licensing authority.

"I am confident that things will get better and that more will pass spot checks next time."