Kent is being confronted with a huge taxi driver shortage - with some people facing six-hour waits and having to miss vital hospital appointments.

Documents obtained through Freedom of Information requests show there are now 500 fewer cabbies across the county than in 2020.

Tonbridge and Malling, Medway and Thanet are Kent's worst-hit districts, having seen their driver lists shrink by about a third in just three years.

Taxi firms are urging authorities - which are responsible for taxi and private hire policy - to cut licensing red tape in a bid to meet demand.

Meanwhile, Margate's Sara Dowling, who recently broke a bone in her neck, is often forced to rely on lifts from friends to attend check-ups, after being told to wait hours for cabs.

“It was fine up until Covid but, since the pandemic, you ring a company and get told it could be two hours. It is absolutely ridiculous," she said.

"Some firms aren’t even letting you pre-book now, and they say it’s because they just don’t have the staff, so what are people like me meant to do?

“I’ve had to miss GP and hospital appointments because I can’t get there, and with the NHS already feeling the strain it’s getting harder to know what to do.

"One driver told me he was leaving the business to go to work in care, as he can’t afford to live as a cabbie right now. How do you fix that?”

On one occasion, Ms Dowling was informed by a firm she would not be able to secure a taxi for six hours.

This left her scrambling to find a solution - just two hours before a hospital appointment.

“I’ve broken a bone in my neck and shoulder so I have to rely on them to get to hospital since I don’t feel safe on public transport,” the mum-of-one added.

“I rang for a taxi at 2pm, hoping to get to the hospital for 4pm just to be told that nobody could get to me until 8pm.

“A friend has come from Medway to get me, which I appreciate but they can’t do that all the time, especially not when they have to give up a day's pay to do it.”

Ten of the county's 13 districts reported a drop in driver numbers between 2020 and 2022.

In Medway the figure fell by almost 200 over the period, while Thanet recorded a slump of 157.

Tonbridge & Malling had the largest percentage drop, as one in three cabbies left their jobs.

Mark Robinson, who co-owns Medway-based Vokes Taxis, believes the slump is down to large numbers of drivers retiring and others never returning to the profession after leaving it during the pandemic.

“The number we have in our firm hasn’t changed since before Covid, but in Medway there has been a clear drop," the businessman said.

“One of the challenges we have is there’s a huge number of roadworks and developments in the area, so it’s very difficult to move freely between the towns.

“The only way we can think to overcome the driver shortage is to get more through the licensing process.

“It’s very difficult to get a licence, as you need to jump through a lot of hoops such as knowledge tests and safeguarding."

Mr Robinson says Uber has "hundreds of drivers" in Medway.

He believes the company's rise has "done massive damage to the industry".

Uber bosses stress their drivers have to adhere to the same requirements as local taxi firms when it comes to licensing.

They also say every member of their workforce has been licensed by a council or regulator, such as Transport for London.

Mr Robinson wants the local authority to emulate Swale Borough Council, which recently lowered the minimum age for taxi driver applicants.

"One driver told me he was leaving the business to go to work in care, as he can’t afford to live as a cabbie right now. How do you fix that?"

The changes allowed 19-year-old Jack Childs, of Let's Go Green Cabs, to become the borough's youngest taxi driver in December.

This came after his company pushed for the age requirements to be loosened by the borough council.

Cllr Cameron Beart, who sat on the licensing committee prior to his death last month, said at the time: "The minimum age for applicants was previously set at 21 years old.

"I made a formal proposal to make the change and it was seconded by Cllr Mike Whiting and formally agreed by the committee.

“This was a positive policy change put forward by the trade through consultation and implemented by the council.”

Our findings reveal Swale saw just 5% of its drivers walk out in the last three years.

The only districts that recorded increases were Canterbury and Folkestone and Hythe. They reported rises of 10% and 5% respectively.

City council spokesman Rob Davies says the authority "hasn't made any changes to its taxi licensing during this period".

Responding to Ms Dowling's concerns, Thanet District Council officials stressed the problem is a county-wide issue.

“Driver shortages are not restricted to private hire drivers or even to this area," a spokesman explained.

"Discussions at a Kent-wide meeting in July 2021 identified this as a county-wide matter."

The spokesman says drivers currently have to sit knowledge tests, basic numeracy assessments and answer questions on disability, equality and safeguarding before securing a licence.

He says a DBS check is also required to “help ensure passenger safety and satisfaction” and that there is no requirement for drivers to retake exams when they renew their licence.