JANUARY 2009 ...TIMES
“I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO DIE” SAYS TEIGNMOUTH TAXI DRIVER
The taxi driver beaten up by a gang of thugs in Teignmouth has spoken of the terrifying moment he was attacked. Dennis Bailey,
who
works for Alpha Taxis, said he thought he might die when a gang of youths descended on his car. He told the Torquay Her- ald Express: “I was picking some passen- gers up from the Royal British Legion but they weren’t ready so I wait-
ed for them in the car. The next thing the dri- ver’s door flew open and I got attacked by six to eight lads. One of them smashed a bottle across my knee so hard I thought he’d shattered my knee cap.”
Despite putting up a fight, he says he didn’t stand a chance. Police were called and are following up inquiries. They are look- ing for witnesses and reiterated that appeal.
WOMAN BRISTOL DRIVER THREATENED WITH KNIFE
A woman taxi driver was robbed at knife- point by three men she picked up from Bristol bus station late at night. The men took Renee Callen’s £95 takings after holding a knife to her throat. They also tried to steal her taxi but she managed to drive away.
Ms Callen told the Bristol Evening Post: “One of them tried get- ting the car keys but unless you turn the igni-
STABBING ATTACK ON PETERBOROUGH TAXI DRIVER
A taxi driver was left fighting for his life after being stabbed four times as he sat in his cab.
The 41-year-old cabbie, who has not been named, was viciously knifed by a passenger after ordering the driver to hand over money. The attacker fled, leav- ing the driver with multiple wounds and sitting in a pool of blood. Police say the driver
alerted his employers of the incident over the radio, who then called for an ambulance. According to the Peterborough Evening Telegraph, the inci- dent began when the taxi driver picked up a passenger from the Bretton Centre. He was asked to stop near to a row of garages and the male passenger demanded money before stab- bing the driver twice
in the arm, in the chest and shoulder. The driver was taken to Peterborough District Hospital, where he is said to be in a stable condition.
A police spokesperson said the attack was being treated as attempted murder. A 34-year-old Peter- borough man has been arrested in con- nection with the attack on the taxi driver and is now in custody.
ARMED RAIDERS ROB OXFORD TAXI OFFICE STAFF
Robbers armed with a pistol and a machete raided an Oxford taxi office in the middle of a residential street. Police said the two hooded men burst inside Radio Taxis, in Magdalen Road, at about 1.30am.
The gunman struck a radio controller around the back of the head with his pistol, causing a four inch gash. A second robber was armed with a machete, but it is not known if it was used in the attack. The pair fled with a sub- stantial amount of cash. The 24-year-old radio operator was taken to the John Radcliffe Hos- pital, where he received stitches to a head wound.
Ibrar Mohammed, man- ager at Royal Cars in Cowley Road, who had a driver attacked at knifepoint ten days ear- lier, said taxi firms in the
city were concerned about the recent spate of violence.
Residents in Magdalen Road opposite the taxi office also spoke of their shock. Peter Vickers, 84, told the Oxford Mail: “Things like this are becoming an everyday occurrence.
“I’ve lived here all my life and seen a lot of changes, not for the better, and it’s some- thing you just come to accept these days.” Det Insp Simon Morton issued an appeal for wit- nesses and described the robbers as white, in their late teens or early 20s and were wearing dark hooded tops and gloves.
He said: “We are not linking the robbery to other incidents that have taken place involving taxi drivers in the city.
“I would like to reas-
sure the taxi companies and the public that we are doing everything we can to identify the people responsible for this violent crime.” Last month, taxi driver Rana Shahid, 41, was robbed and knifed in the stomach when his taxi was forced to stop by another car in Greater Leys.
Mr Mohammed said: “We are all worried because there seems to be more and more violence.
“More drivers are also gettin attacked or robbed, it’s getting quite bad.
“I’m looking at installing CCTV cam- eras in all my taxis, if we can afford it.
“Luckily we have CCTV and lot of staff always around at our office but I suppose if someone comes in with a pistol and a machete there isn’t much you can do.”
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tion key completely round you can’t pull it out. By this time they were out of the car so I spun it round and sped off with the doors open. All I wanted to do was get the hell out of there.” Ms Callen drove to Temple Meads railway station and pulled into a bus stop to dial 999. CCTV footage from Bristol bus station showed two of the rob- bers but police said the images were not clear.
HEMEL HEMPSTEAD CONTROLLER TIED UP BY MASKED GANG
Masked robbers fled with £900 cash from a taxi office after threat- ening a radio controller with a knife. Three men burst into Millennium 24/7 cab firm’s small base next to Hemel Hempstead Town Football Club last month. They put a knife to a lone worker man- ning a radio system and demanded cash before fixing his legs, arms and mouth with gaffer tape. The victim managed to
send a muffled radio message to colleagues by using his elbow to hit a button on the sys- tem control board. Ahmed Jamil, owner of Millennium 24/7, told the Hemel Hempstead Gazette: “We’ve never had anything like this before, and we’ve been trading for nearly ten years.” Police are appealing for anyone who may have seen these men to contact them.
THREE BEAT UP CARDIFF CABBIE
A taxi driver was vicious- ly assaulted by three men he refused to take home without payment in advance. The 31-year- old, from Cardiff, was left needing surgery to a shattered jaw. Police and the city’s hackney carriage asso- ciation appealed for anyone who recognis-
es descriptions of the three suspects to con- tact officers.
The attack happened near the Barfly Club on Kingsway last month. Detectives are studying CCTV and issued descriptions of the men. Mathab Khan, chairman of Cardiff’s hackney carriage association,
said he hoped a taxi driver who may have taken the men home afterwards might recog- nise the descriptions. He told the South Wales Echo: “This man was very badly beaten up. I hope that anyone who took the three men home to St Mellons at that time will come forward.”
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PRIVATE HIRE AND TAXI MONTHLY
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