Edinburgh children's taxi outing could be axed over police policy change

The annual Edinburgh taxi outing, which sees dressed-up cabs taking children with complex needs out for a day at the seaside, faces being cancelled after a police policy change.

The colourful annual taxi outing provides an opportunity for children with complex needs to have a day out, driven in decorated cabs to East Lothian for a day full of ice cream, fun and hopefully sunshine.

Organisers of the event, which has been running for 78 years, say the police force can no longer offer an escort through the traffic, meaning the journey would take hours and would be inappropriate for the children.

The national police chiefs’ council said it was up to individual forces to consider how a policy is applied, while Edinburgh Council say they hope a solution can be found.