TERROR... STRATFORD DRIVER PUNCHED IN THE FACE
A Stratford taxi driver was punched in the face after asking two passengers not to eat in his cab on Saturday night, 2nd July.
According to the Strat- ford-upon-Avon Herald, the driver was assaulted by one of two men he tried to eject from his taxi
opposite the No 1 Shakespeare Street bar in Birmingham Road at about 11.50pm. He was punched in the chest and face during the assault, before the men headed back towards the town cen- tre.
The two men are
described as white, in their early 20s and were wearing short- sleeved shirts or t-shirts and dark trousers or jeans. Anyone with informa- tion should call PC Craig Purcell on 01926 415000 or Crimestop- pers anonymously on 0800 555111.
LEICESTER CABBIE THREATENED WITH AXE
A robber who threat- ened a taxi driver with an axe has been told to expect a lengthy prison sentence. According to the Leicester Mercury, Wayne Harris was con- victed by a jury last month of robbing cab- bie Darren Cheney of his taxi. He was also found guilty of pos- sessing a knife and an axe during the robbery. Harris, 31, denied the charges, claiming it was a case of mistak- en identity. But the jury of eight men and four women rejected his defence.
Harris elected not to give evidence in court, but he told the police in interview that he had recently bought Mr Cheney’s stolen sil- ver Seat Alhambra. He claimed to have played no part in the robbery.
Cheney picked out Harris in an identifica- tion procedure.
The Leicester Crown Court hearing was adjourned until July 22, for the preparation of pre-sentence and psychiatric reports. Recorder Nicholas Dean QC remanded Harris back into cus-
But Mr
tody and told him: “This robbery is very serious and the over- whelming likelihood is you’re going to go to prison for a long time.” During the trial, the court heard how Harris took a train from Leicester to Market Harborough, arriving at about 4.15pm. He took a taxi from the station asking to be taken to Barrow upon Soar. On the way, Harris showed Mr Cheney that he had a knife tucked into his waistband and he then produced a short-handled axe from a plastic carrier bag.
HARTLEPOOL DRIVER SPRAYED IN CARJACKING
A taxi driver was left blinded when he was sprayed in the face with a chemical in a terrifying late night carjacking.
The attack sparked a high-speed chase through Hartlepool that lasted eight miles and only came to an end when the Skoda Octavia crashed through a fence on a residential estate. It came after the 41- year-old victim picked up a group of two men and two women at around 11.40pm on Monday, February 21. Wayne Rogan, 26, admitted taking the cab when he appeared at Teesside Crown
PAGE 62
Court last month. Passengers Ian Harri- son, 33, Laura Church, 20, and Sarah Lilley, 28, admitted letting themselves go along with the escapade. The court heard that the driver had stag- gered out of his cab with his eyes stream- ing after he was sprayed in the face. The cabbie, who was temporarily blinded in the attack, quickly called police who tracked the vehicle down to Station Town using the taxi’s navi- gation system.
During the ensuing police pursuit, the car was chased down a country road and then
back into Hartlepool. It eventually came to a stop in a dead end in street on the Central Estate, when the defendants fled. Church was caught at the scene, while the others were arrested later. Rogan, from Hartlepool, admitted aggravated vehicle taking.
Harrison, Street, and Lilley, all from Hartle- pool, admitted allow- ing themselves to be carried in the vehicle. Rogan and Harrison were remanded in cus- tody and Church and Lilley were granted bail to be sentenced after reports had been prepared.
HUNT FOR THUG IN MANCHESTER TAXI ATTACK
Police want to ques- tion a man after two drivers were abused and assaulted outside the In Time taxi firm offices on Chapel Street, Levenshulme. The offender also cracked the front windscreen of a silver Hyundai when he
smashed it with his fist at about 1.15am on Saturday, March 19. DC Pete Rickards said: “Whatever motivated this man to lash out at taxi drivers and smash a car windscreen, be it because he was drunk or just lost his temper, it is totally unaccept-
able behaviour and taxi drivers should not be subjected to such wanton violence when on duty.”
Anyone with informa- tion is urged to call police on 0161 872 5050 or Crimestop- pers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
HUNT FOR ATTACKERS OF CHELTENHAM CABBIE
Police are seeking two men who attacked a taxi driver in Chel- tenham.
The Gloucestershire Echo reports that computer-generated images have been issued by Gloucester- shire police in relation to the incident at 11.30pm on May 28. A taxi driver collected two customers from outside the Fox and
Hounds pub in Prest- bury Road. Then, in Princess Elizabeth Way, the men demand- ed to know where the driver’s money was and grabbed him from behind.
The 32-year-old, who suffered minor injuries to his face, stopped his silver Renault Laguna estate near to Edward Wilson House and the two men ran
off, empty handed, down the side of the church nearby.
The men were white, in their early 20s and between 5ft 8ins and 5ft 10ins tall. One was wearing a grey hood- ed top, the other a red sports jacket with white stripes down the arms.
Anyone able to help the police should ring them on 0845 090 1234.
REVELLER HURLS BARREL AT DERBY CABBIE
A taxi driver was left with a £1,400 repair bill after a reveller flung an empty beer barrel at his cab as he drove through Derby city centre. Fazal Ashraf said it was lucky that some- one was not killed in the incident in the early hours of a recent Sunday.
The 40-year-old said he was driving along The Strand when a man came out of the Flamin Monkey bar and picked up the bar- rel.
Mr Ashraf said the man aimed it at a group of people but it hit his car instead as he drove past.
He has now com- plained to the city council about the stor- age of the barrels, which he says are kept unchained in a yard between Flamin Mon-
key and The Barracu- da Bar.
The 40-year-old, of Ut- toxeter Road, Mickle- over, told the Derby Telegraph: “Some- body could have been killed if it had hit them on the head.
“I just want to know who is going to repair the damage.
“They tell me that the whole door frame is bent because of the weight of the barrel. They should be chained up.” Police later arrested a 23-year-old man but he was released with- out charge on the advice of the Crown Prosecution Service, which said there was insufficient evidence to prosecute.
A spokesman said: “The suspect denied being present at the time and location of the alleged offence
and a witness support- ed his account.” The owners of Flamin Monkey said the bar- rels did not belong to the bar.
Jade Cooper, junior assistant manager at The Barracuda Bar, said the barrels were left out for collection in the yard.
She said: “They are not chained up but are kept behind fire exit doors which shouldn’t be used by the public. “Now it has been brought to our atten- tion I suppose we will have to do something and perhaps not keep them there any more.” Michael Kay, environ- mental health manager at Derby City Council, said: “We will investigate the inci- dent to identify if there are any issues that need to be ad- dressed.”
PHTM AUGUST 2011
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88
