A NEW bench has been set up in Totnes – in memory of taxi driver Steve Caunter who died in a road accident just over a year ago.

The bench is just yards from the taxi rank on The Plains in Totnes where Mr Caunter spent much of his working day.

It has been paid for with donations from Mr Caunter's cabbie friends and his then boss Mark Rowe.

Mark, who now runs a town bar, said: “Steve was well liked out there. He was friends with a lot of drivers and I think this is a nice gesture.”

The steel bench in blue cost around £900 and the bulk of the cash came from the taxi men while some came through donations from their passengers.

Mr Caunter died in a bank holiday crash on the Western by-pass in Totnes in May last year aged 47.

He was at the wheel of his cab heading for Harbertonford to pick up a fare when he was involved in a head-on crash, He died at the scene.

Totnes came to a standstill on the day of Mr Caunter's funeral as his coffin was driven to St. Mary's Church in the town centre accompanied by a convoy of more than 16 cabs.

In January this year, a 53-year-old man from Kings Lynn, Norfolk, was ordered to pay £270 in fines and costs after he admitted driving carelessly, causing the accident in which Mr Caunter died.