A PRIVATE hire driver who “put his passengers at risk” by driving down a one-way street in Glasgow city centre has been allowed to keep his job.

Gordon Campbell, 58, drove the wrong way up West George Street while passengers were in his car in July 2016.

After realising his mistake, he was caught by cops reversing on to a pedestrian crossing in an attempt to turn the vehicle around.

Licensing committee members also heard how Mr Campbell was snared after driving 72mph in a 50mph zone in Cumbernauld a year earlier.

His solicitor Ruairidh Leishman claimed the Network Private Hire driver would be at risk of homelessness if he lost his cab licence.

He said: “Were his licence not to be renewed it would be potentially ruinous for him.

“Mr Campbell tells me that following his divorce he has £12,000 worth of debt due to his ex-wife’s gambling problems.

“He’s making £100 a month payments for the next four years.

“He has also purchased his own vehicle and is repaying an £8k loan which would be at risk were he to lose his livelihood.

“If he were to lose his licence he would be at risk of homelessness.”

Speaking about the incident on the one-way road, Mr Leishman added: “He accepts he made a mistake. As soon as he realised, he stopped his vehicle.

“There were no injuries. He stopped, checked his surroundings and was directed back by a fellow cab driver.

“Once the manoeuvre had begun he had to do something to rectify it. He couldn’t continue to drive down the one-way street.”

Mr Leishman told of how his client was a member of the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme and regularly took blood from the blood bank to hospitals.

But Police Scotland confirmed that Mr Campbell had been fined £100 for the speeding offence and receive a £400 fine and four penalty points for the incident in West George Street.

Licensing committee chairman Alex Wilson said: “He’s put passengers at risk while holding a licence.

“We have to look at whether passengers are going to be safe going forward.”

Despite the concerns, Mr Campbell was allowed to renew his licence for a restricted one-year period and issued with a severe warning.