A BRAZEN cabbie who charged punters a whopping £80 fare for a TWO-MILE journey to Beyonce's Hampden gig has been hit with a road ban.

Dahrmindar Singh has been suspended from operating for three months after licensing chiefs discovered he ripped off passengers heading to the concert at Hampden, Glasgow.

He was also penalised for cramming eight customers into his black cab – two above the legal limit.

The local authority’s licensing committee heard how Singh picked up the punters off the street and immediately asked for £80 up front to take them to Hampden.

But then he turfed them out of his cab when they were still a MILE from the National Stadium – lying that he couldn't go any further.

The group then trudged to the ground as other cabs whizzed by to complete the trip.

One of his victims, who wasn't named, told the hearing: “We asked how the fare was so expensive and he couldn’t give us an explanation.

"Luckily, we had the money to pay it or we would have left in Glasgow, lost and in a vulnerable situation.

“The taxi driver could clearly see how desperate we were to get to the concert on time and took full advantage of that."

When they complained to the council an investigation was launched, the committee heard.

The witness added: "I do not believe we were the first people to be charged such a ridiculous price and certainly won’t be the last if this driver continues to over-charge customers.”

Singh, who was represented by a solicitor, disputed the statements and instead argued that he had charged them only £11.20 and was paid a total of £18, including a tip.

He also argued that there were only six passengers.

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The committee heard that when seven witness statements were put to him he stated: "It's a load of lies and false allegations. I took them by meter and they gave me a tip."

Frank Docherty, chair of the licensing committee, said: "This was a deliberate attempt to exploit people desperate to get to a concert on time.

"By overloading his cab, the driver also put passenger safety at risk.

"The committee will always take action against those who fail to meet the standards expected of them."

But Singh, of the city’s Shawlands, last night insisted the pals had stitched him up over the July trip.

He said: “I was innocent. To my knowledge, there were only six.

“It came to £11 and they gave me £18. The passengers were swearing at me — they just went against me. They said they had reported taxi drivers before.”

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