JUST DESERTS
HAMILTON PASSENGER JAILED FOR 18 MONTHS AFTER VIOLENT ATTACK ON TAXI DRIVER
A late-night taxi ride ended in violence when a rowdy passenger choked a Hamilton cabbie who simply asked to be paid. Michael McCabe, 43, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison following the incident last July, which also involved him smashing a resident’s window with a wheelie bin. The trouble began around 1am when the 27-year-old cabbie picked up McCabe and a woman, driving them to multiple locations. After McCabe stepped out of the vehicle on Craigburn Street, he picked up a bin and hurled it
through a house window. When the driver warned McCabe he would call the police and requested his fare, the passenger turned his aggression on the driver. The court heard how McCabe tore down the plastic barrier inside the cab, reached into the front seat, and wrapped both hands tightly around the driver’s neck. “The driver tried to wriggle free but McCabe put his arm over his neck and held him in place before letting go and making off,” the prosecutor stated. In his defence, a lawyer noted that McCabe was a recovering alcoholic
who had relapsed, stating the incident was “fuelled by alcohol” and offering an apology to the driver “who was only doing his job.” The lawyer added that the smashed window stemmed from a separate dispute with the homeowner. However, Sheriff John Hamilton KC rejected any excuses after review- ing a victim impact statement and examining McCabe’s extensive criminal history. Sending him to prison, the Sheriff told McCabe: “There is no plausible explanation for your conduct that night other than your violent nature.”
NORFOLK WOMAN JAILED AFTER CRIME SPREE INVOLVING STOLEN TAXI AND HAMMER ATTACK
A 25-year-old Norfolk woman has been sentenced to 22 months in prison following a chaotic series of crimes that included stealing a taxi, smashing police station windows with a hammer, and attacking emergency workers. Mia Stebbings, of North Walsham, was jailed last month after committing multiple offences across Dereham and her hometown. Her most recent crime wave peaked on March 18, when she took a taxi from Norwich Bus Station to Dereham. When the driver stepped out of the vehicle to find the correct address, Stebbings hopped into the driver’s seat and sped away. Her joyride quickly ended in disaster. Police were called to Commercial Road following a collision where the stolen taxi crashed into several parked cars.
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An off-duty police officer administered first aid at the scene before Stebbings was taken to the hospital and subsequently arrested. Investigators later reviewed dashcam footage which revealed she had also crashed into a police vehicle right outside Dereham Police Station. For this wild sequence of events, she was charged with aggravated vehicle taking, dangerous driving, driving while disqualified, and driving without insurance.
However, this was not her first encounter with the law. Stebbings was also sentenced for two earlier incidents. On March 15, officers at North Walsham Police Station investigated a loud banging at their rear door and discovered Stebbings outside. She had “smashed the glass panels with a hammer,” leading to charges of criminal damage, possession of an offensive weapon, and being in an enclosed premises. Furthermore, on September 24, 2025, she attacked two paramedics who were
responding to an
emergency call at a pub in North Walsham, resulting in two counts of assaulting an emergency worker.
In addition to her 22-month prison sentence, Stebbings has been hit with a 35-month driving ban and ordered to pay a £187 surcharge.
JULY 2026 PHTM
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