JUST DESERTS


CABBIE FORCED TO LEAP FROM MOVING TAXI DURING TERRIFYING HANLEY KNIFEPOINT ROBBERY


A taxi driver was forced to dive out of his own vehicle to escape a violent mugging in Hanley that left him fearing for his life. James Whitehouse, 29, has been jailed for 42 months after he and an accomplice targeted the driver parked near a pub last February. The victim had his window down when the two men ambushed him. The court heard that one attacker wore a balaclava while the other brandished a blade, shouting, “Give me the money, give me the money, give me your phone.” The court was told that the man with the knife “looked like he was going to stab the driver and he


seriously attempted to do that,” while the second man grabbed the driver by


the


chest and neck. In a bid to survive, the cabbie scrambled across the seats and escaped through the passenger door, falling to the floor as the attackers kicked him in the mouth and sped off in his car. The stolen taxi, which contained the driver’s passport, iPhone, and cash, was later recovered after police found Whitehouse’s DNA


inside the vehicle. Whitehouse claimed he was not holding the knife, but pleaded guilty


to robbery under joint


enterprise. His lawyer noted that Whitehouse suffered from mental health issues and drug struggles, offering apologies to the victim. Judge Graeme Smith described the attack as a “nasty and totally unnecessary robbery” of a man who was simply in the “wrong place at the wrong time.” The judge noted that the driver, who once enjoyed his job, now lives with constant “fear and apprehension.”


JAIL FOR PAIR OF COVENTRY BURGLARS WHO HIJACKED TAXI AND THREATENED TO STAB DRIVER


A pair of Coventry burglars hijacked a taxi and threatened to stab the driver. Ian Giles, 51, (left) and Jason Dalton, 37, (rigfht) stole cars and burgled houses across the city,


threatening and


assaulting anyone who tried to stop them. They even hijacked a taxi from Leicester to Coventry, threatening to stab the driver if he didn’t drop them off at an address in Canley. On the night of this offence, the driver of the car was on his way to Coventry when his car was hit by an object thrown by one of the two defendants. When he stopped, the pair approached, saying: “do you want to lose your life?” and demanding they be dropped off in Canley. They jumped into the car and


PHTM MARCH 2026


repeatedly threatened the driver and original passengers with being stabbed. The terrifying incident happened less than 30 minutes from a burglary the two men committed nearby. In that offence, the two had entered a property in the South West of the city looking for money and/or car keys. When they were challenged by one of the occupants of the house, they stabbed him in the hand


before fleeing the scene. The two men were arrested after being spotted on CCTV removing clothing from a clothes bank. After an investigation by Coventry Local Policing Area, the men were identified as suspects in the previous burglaries and the taxi incident. Giles was aggressive throughout his time in custody, threatening to smash the laptops of the officers who interviewed him and insulting the victims of one of his offences. Both men were charged with burglary, blackmail, possession of a knife and assault by beating and were jailed at Warwick Crown Court on 6 February. Giles was jailed for six years and nine months, while Dalton, was jailed for four years and six months.


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