A Furness taxi driver has been recognised for his work at an annual awards event in Parliament. 

Earlier this year Simon Fell, the MP for Barrow and Furness, called on residents of Barrow and Furness to nominate their favourite taxi or private hire driver for the UK Parliamentary Taxi Awards 2023. 

The MP received hundreds of nominations for dozens of different drivers - but only one could go through to the shortlist and grand final. 

Furness, and Mr Fell’s, favourite was David O’Connell of Acacia Taxis in Barrow. The MP decided to put Mr O’Connell forward because of the overwhelming number of nominations and kind words received about David. 

Mr Fell said:  “Furness’ taxi drivers do an incredible job. They help us to meet our appointments, to socialise, and to get home safe at the end of a heavy night out.  

“It was really lovely to see so many people nominating many local taxi drivers for this award.  

“In the end there can only be one winner, and I was delighted to put David forward for his hard work and above and beyond service that his passengers tell me they receive from him.” 

At an awards event held in Parliament this week, Mr O'Connell was not able to collect the award in person so Mr Fell did so on his behalf. 

The MP said:  “Unfortunately David couldn’t make it down to collect the award in person so I was very happy to deputise for him. I’ll pop into Acacia next week to hand over his award.”