Taxi drivers are to get the best protection yet from potential robbers with the introduction of a cab with a protective screen.

And the new Peugeot E7 also allows drivers to lock the doors on passengers who attempt to run off without paying their fare.

It means drivers can hold potential runaways until Police come and be protected from attack by the dividing screen.

Lamjid Associates, which is being set up by a consortium of taxi owners, has signed a deal to buy 40 of the seven seater cabs from Allied Vehicles in Glasgow, Scotland, and the first of them has just arrived on the Island. The taxi also allows wheelchair-bound passengers to easily embark, and there is an electrical stair which can be lowered for the elderly and infirm.

Lamjid Associates has been formed to import the taxis and will sell them on to drivers who are interested.

The company's vice-president Dennis Hollis told The Royal Gazette yesterday: "It is specifically designed as a taxi and has lots of safety features such as making it wheelchair accessible and the electric ramp.

"Drivers have lost a lot of money from people running off and they can't do it now with this locking system.

"They can't get away, and because there is the shield, they can't get at the driver, and we really need this.

"Some of the drivers like fancy luxury cars, but this is a lot stronger and has been designed as a taxi.

"There are some guys interested in taking the cars now, and others want them later."

The 40 cab order from Lamjid is the first major overseas business for Allied Vehicles, and the company's Bill Parris flew in to show off the vehicle. He said: "We are very happy indeed to have this order and it is great to be in Bermuda.

"We got some enquiry last October over the internet and we sent out some DVDs and brochures and that established the lines of communication."

The drivers who are setting up the company are Mr. Hollis, Herbert Carey, Bruce DeGrilla, Janet DeGrilla, Kenneth Joaquin, Millard Lightbourne, and Anson Simmons.

In another boost for taxi safety, Bermudian entrepreneurs Dwayne Hill and Nathan Ming are hoping to start selling mini security cameras for $1,250 each.