UNSUNG HEROES
LIVERPOOL CAB DRIVER FOILS ARMED ROBBERS
A taxi driver who grap- pled with two armed robbers and took their gun has been praised as “extremely brave” by police.
The cabbie was set upon by the thugs on Tees Street, Kirkdale, at around 9pm on Thurs- day 9 June.
The offenders, who are described as white men dressed in black cloth- ing, threatened the taxi driver with a handgun and demanded he hand over his takings, car keys and wallet. But the man, in his late 20s, suffered a bruised shoulder in the scuffle before the would-be robbers fled in the direction of Rumney Place. DCI Lee Turner from the Force’s anti-gun and gang crime unit,
Matrix, praised the vic- tim for his bravery but warned against people taking the law into their own hands. He told the Liverpool Echo: “This man was extremely brave. Thankfully he was not seriously injured and has been able to pro- vide valuable infor- mation which is help- ing our investigation. “However, we would advise other people, if they are ever confront- ed by someone with a weapon in whatever circumstances, to never try and take the weapon from them in case they use it. “The gun in this case could easily have been discharged during the struggle and it is fortu- nate no-one was hurt. Instead we would
advise that people stay calm, and do whatever they can to get out of harm’s way as soon as possible, then alert the police immediately by calling 999. “We have specialist firearms officers avail- able round the clock to deal with incidents involving weapons who we can deploy instantly when a report comes in.
“I would like to pay tribute to the victim for his courage and thank him for his help so far. We are doing every- thing possible to catch his attackers and take firearms like this off the streets.”
Anyone who has infor- mation is asked to call Matrix on 0151 777 4561 or Crimestop- pers on 0800 555 111.
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DORCHESTER CABBIE MIKE A HERO WHO SAVED MY LIFE
A taxi driver has been hailed a hero after sav- ing the life of a pensioner who devel- oped a deadly blood clot on her lung. Mike Scott of Bob’s Cars in Dorchester rushed Pat Thomas to Dorset County Hospi- tal after he was called to her home to take her to a routine doc- tor’s appointment. Pat, 76, had become breathless, developed chest pains and was unable to speak. Doc- tors told Pat’s family that if Mike had not acted so quickly then she wouldn’t be here today.
Grandmother of two Pat told the Dorset Echo: “I really cannot thank Mike enough. If it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t still be here.” Mike, 68, of Cerne Abbas, said he could tell something was wrong when he went to pick regular client Pat up. He added: “She’s normally quite punctu- al in coming out. This time I waited for five minutes and she opened the door and
Pat Thomas with driver Mike Scott Phoyo courtesy of the Dorset Echo
disappeared again. “When I went down the path I could see that she was having some kind of an attack. She was hav- ing trouble breathing, had chest pains and couldn’t talk.
“I said ‘I have to take you to A&E’. I’d never had a situation like this before. Pat was in a lot of distress and could barely speak. I was worried she was not going to make it. “I was talking to her and trying to keep her calm. Luckily it was only half a mile to A&E and it didn’t take long to get there.”
Pat was treated for a blood clot on her lung and was kept in the cardiac care unit for eight days.
She said: “I feel very appreciative and glad Mike was around - he’s a lovely man and he saved my life. He’s a hero and I want to give him all the appre- ciation he deserves.” Mike said: “I don’t think I’m a hero. You have to think on your feet when something like this happens. As a Chris- tian I believe that God put me in the right place at the right time to help Pat. I think His timing is impeccable.”
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PAGE 36
When 72-year-old gran Cynthia Dawson pop- ped to the doctor’s she was shocked when her shopping bag was stolen from her mobili- ty scooter outside the surgery.
She was doubly dev- astated because the bag contained a brand new outfit for her granddaughter’s wed- ding. With no dress and no jewellery, it looked like Cynthia’s special day was ruined.
The whole lot, includ- ing shoes and jewel- lery cost £250, so Cyn- thia could not afford to replace it. But best friend Carolyn Morgan
had a brain wave. Carolyn told the Work- sop Guardian: “I just put a post on Face- book appealing to the thieves to have a heart and hand it back,” said Carolyn.
The dress has not been returned. But Cynthia’s fairy god- mother has appeared in the form of Town Taxis. Martyn Howe, who owns the Work- sop taxi company, rushed to the rescue when he read the Facebook post.
“I couldn’t believe that someone would do that to an elderly lady,” he said. “We’ve got 5,000
Facebook friends, so I re-posted the link hop- ing it would help.” “Then, I realised Cyn- thia’s granddaughter is one of our cus- tomers and I knew I had to help.”
Martyn sped into action and sent one of his drivers round with enough cash to cover the price of the dress. Cynthia said: “I’m so overwhelmed by his kindness, I really am.” Granddaughter Vicky was married on 4th June at St Anne’s Church in Worksop. And Town Taxis offered their services to Cynthia’s family free of charge.
PHTM JULY 2011
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