UNSUNG HEROES...


TOURIST THANKS GLASGOWTAXI DRIVER WHO SELFLESSLY FIXED HER WHEELCHAIR


A Glasgow tourist who feared the worst when her electric wheelchair broke on arrival in the city has thanked the unlikely hero who saved the day - a local taxi driver. Nina Cosgrove, who requires a mobility scooter due to living with multiple sclero- sis, faced an anxious landing in Glasgow after finding out her wheelchair was dam- aged on her flight to Glasgow. As Nina, who lives in Oxford, left the air- port concerned she


would would have to cut her trip short. She was picked up by Glasgow Taxis driver Dougie Mac- Pherson. Listening to Nina’s story in his ‘People Make Glasgow’ cab, Dougie decided to go above and be- yond to ensure she was able to make the most of her time in the city. After dropping Nina at her hotel, Dougie voluntarily offered to take away the broken scooter and fix it for her at home in his own time.


Dougie MacPherson


Although there were no mechanical faults, Dougie was still tasked with putting some


of


NORTHAMPTON TAXI DRIVER CHASED AFTER ATTACKERS


The heroic efforts of a Northampton taxi driver who fought to capture


crucial


CCTV evidence on his dashcam was heard as evidence in an ongoing murder trial. Two men were standing trial for the murder of Daniel Fitzjohn, who died in Kingsley on June 14 last year. But at the start of the trial at Nor- thampton Crown Court on February 4, the jury heard how a taxi driver who drove Mr Fitzjohn and his friends around that evening and wit- nessed every step of the alleged attack fought to gather vital evidence for the police. Daniel Quinn, 28,


58


and Parminder Sang- hera, 25, both from Wol ve rhampton were on trial for the murder


of Mr


Fitzjohn. The jury heard how Mr Fitzjohn and his friends were in- volved in an alter- cation with Quinn after which the taxi took Mr Fitzjohn and his friends to drop them off. Quinn returned in a grey Mini with Sanghera and ran at the group brandishing a knife and a machete respectively. In the foot chase that ensued, Quinn allegedly chased Mr Fitzjohn - and when he caught up to him, he stabbed him twice in the abdomen. The taxi driver, who had dashcams set up for both his rear


and windscreen win- dows, did not stand by. The court heard how he turned in the road and sped after Mr Fitzjohn to cap- ture the alleged attack. After the incident, Quinn and Sanghera drove away from the scene but the taxi pursued them up to the junction of East Park Parade and Kingsley Road ‘to get


their licence


plates’. Then he called the police. His efforts meant that nearly every step of the events surrounding Fitzjohn’s


Mr death


were caught on camera - including the alleged stabbing. Mr Fitzjohn was taken to hospital but was pronounced dead at 10.35pm.


the


wheelchair’s mount- ings back in place. True to his word, Dougie appeared back at the hotel the


next morning with wheelchair – com- pletely fixed. He said: “When Nina had told me her mobility scooter had been damaged on the flight, I felt for her – it’s rotten luck. “Given she wasn’t here for a long time, I was pleased I could make sure she was able to make the most of her visit to Glasgow.” Nina managed to fulfil all her planned engagements


in


Glasgow. Travelling for work, Nina was in Glasgow as part of a


site visit for the World Climate Jus- tice Conference tak- ing place at Glas- gow Caledonian Uni- versity later


this


year. A delighted Nina said: “Without my scooter I would not have been able to move around Glas- gow independently to do what I needed to do, so I’m very grateful to Dougie for his help. “Everyone I met in Glasgow was so friendly and helpful, and it is true - Peo- ple Make Glasgow.”


GLASGOWCABBIES HELP RECOVER STRICTLY STAR’S PHONE


Two Glasgow taxi drivers came to the rescue of Strictly Come Dancing star Graziano Di Prima by helping track down a thief who stole his phone. According to STV News, Willie Patter- son


and Greg


McFarlane helped Graziano recover his mobile in the east end, minutes after it was taken from him in the city centre. The


24-year-old


Italian, who had been enjoying some down-time with fel- low dancers Jo- annes Radebe and Aljaz


Skorjanec,


was “ecstatic” fol- lowing the recovery. The trio had been at a restaurant


last


month before their show at the Hydro when the phone was


stolen. Greg, a Glasgow taxi driver for 38 years, said: “I was flagged down by the three guys who were a bit hesitant at first and said they didn’t know where they were going. I knew their


couldn’t place them. “They


Glasgow Taxis Ltd driver, said: “I had picked up a fare and clicked


away that there was something


faces but explained


they had lost their phone but could track it - when I saw it was moving I knew exactly where in the city it was and as I went up the street where it was located in my good pal Willie’s cab.” Greg and Willie quickly


realised


what had happened and teamed up to help the Strictly stars locate and retrieve the phone. Willie


Patterson,


about his behaviour. “After I dropped him off, I met Greg and it all fell into place.” The pair tracked down the individual who had taken the phone,


getting


Graziano to ring it while they did and it was quickly handed back over. The Strictly fav- ourite said he didn’t want to call the police but each driv- er received a tip and some photos as a reminder of


the


unique fare. Text messages ex- changed included the message: “Thank you so much for what you have done.”


MARCH 2019


straight odd


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