56 PRIVATE HIRE AND TAXI MONTHLY
JANUARY 2009 UNSUNG HEROES
OXFORD TAXI DRIVER IS MODEL CITIZEN
A former Miss England winner has praised a good Samaritan for returning her belongings including £450 in cash which he found strewn across a busy road. Daniella Luan Timms accidentally left her handbag on the roof of her car before driving home after a family meal.
As the car pulled away the handbag and con- tents including cash, bank cards, mobile phone, and camera as well as house and car keys flew off the roof and scattered across the A4260. The 28-year-old did not realise what had hap- pened until she arrived back home half an hour later.
Luckily, taxi driver Gian Sarbatta, 53, of Kidling- ton Cars, was driving past and spotted her belongings in the road.
He gathered them up and handed the bag in at Kidlington Police Station the following morning. Mother-of-two Ms Timms, who won both Miss England and Miss Oxford in 2002, told the Oxford Mail: “My part- ner went back in the early hours of the morning but all he could find was my diary. My friends and family kept telling me I would never get my things back, not in this day and age!
“I knew there were some good people out there and had an inclination it would be returned. “I got a call from police the following morning telling me the bag had been handed in. Every- thing was in there. This really has put my faith back in humanity.” Mr Sarbatta, of Kidling- ton, who has been a
taxi driver for two years, said he regularly finds purses or mobile phones in his cab and always tries to make sure they are returned to their rightful owner. He said he spotted the handbag and contents on the road. “I turned the car round and saw a mobile and an expen- sive camera so I picked them up because I feared a car might come along behind me and run over and smash everything,” he explained.
“I couldn't see anything with a name on it so I went to the police sta- tion in the morning. But it was closed so I had to go back later and hand everything in. I couldn’t leave it there in the road.”
Ms Timms went to meet father-of-two Mr Sarbat- ta to thank him and pay a small reward.
NEWTON ABBOT DRIVERS RESCUE THE DAY
Newton Abbot-based Delta Taxis came to the rescue of a Paignton family when its holiday dreams were dashed. After reading the story of Paul and Pauline Brown, the company and its drivers drove to the res- cue with an offer to take the family of seven to their holiday at Somer- west World, Minehead,
A taxi driver has spo- ken about the moment a crazed passenger threatened him with a “dirty needle”. The 50-year-old man, who only wanted to be known as Colin for fear of reprisals, said he felt more angry than scared during the ordeal. He fought off his attack- er and refused to hand over any of his takings. The cabbie had picked the man up from Great Northern Road before the attack happened on Canal Street.
and collect them. Mr and Mrs Brown, whose youngest, nine- month-old William was born with a hole in the heart, were turned down for a government scheme to help with mobility travel that would have got them to their week’s break. It will not be until William is three that he is eligible
He told the Aberdeen Evening Press: “I’m normally quite careful about whom I pick up and he looked decent enough.
“But just as I stopped the taxi he grabbed me from behind. He put his arm round my neck and said he had a dirty nee- dle. I could feel something on my neck but it felt too blunt to be a needle.”
Colin had to go to hospi- tal for tetanus injections after the incident. “I think the guy was
for transport help. According to the New- ton Abbot Advertiser, Delta Taxis stepped in and offered their servic- es free, saving the family hundreds of pounds to hire a car big enough for them all. The drivers also collect- ed £100 for the Browns to enjoy their holiday in style.
ABERDEEN DRIVER FOUGHT OFF ATTACKER
bluffing because he was trying to push it into my neck when I pulled his arm away but it was too blunt. It felt like a key or the tip of a pen.” The driver, who only works Saturdays, and has been in the trade for 28 years, said: “This is the first time anything like this has happened but it definitely won’t put me off.”
The attacker is in his late 20s with auburn hair and a moustache. He was wearing a beanie hat and fingerless gloves.
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