JUST DESERTS
SEVEN YEARS’ JAIL FOR MAN WHO ROBBED HULL CABBIE AND DEMANDED HE GET INTO BOOT
A Hull taxi driver’s life was “shattered” after a menacing passenger threatened him with a kitchen knife, demanded cash, and then ordered him into the boot of his own car during a terrifying early-morning ordeal. Dale Allison, 43, of Hull, was jailed for seven years and two months after admitting to robbery and causing criminal damage. He pleaded guilty on the day his trial was due to start. The terrifying incident began when Allison booked a taxi in the early hours of March 25. Prosecutor Nick Murphy told Hull Crown Court that after arriving at the Boothferry estate, Allison refused to pay the £8.20 fare, instead pulling out a knife and pointing it towards the driver’s chest, telling him: “Just give me everything you have.” After taking the driver’s
cash,
Allison forced the man to drive to a nearby Asda car park, where he detained him for about 40 minutes.
Mr Murphy said: “The defendant ordered the victim to get out of his car to get into the boot.” The shocked driver “bravely refused” the order and managed to flee the scene before flagging down a second taxi driver for help. Allison followed the victim and stabbed the rear tyre of the second taxi driver’s car before disappearing. The victim’s impact statement revealed the “devastating” effect of the crime. “I couldn’t sleep for a couple of days after the incident due to constantly reliving what had happened,” the driver said, adding he felt “utterly powerless”. He testified that the robbery had “shattered my confidence and my ability to do my job” and forced him to
consider leaving the
profession he loved. In mitigation, Rachel Scott conceded that it was “terrible
offending” but argued the robbery was not planned, given Allison had booked the taxi in his own name. However, Judge John Thackray KC condemned the vicious attack on a vulnerable worker. “All offences of robbery are serious but this is a particularly serious example,” the Judge told Allison. “Taxi drivers play an extremely valuable role in society... They inevitably work alone and are therefore, to a degree, vulnerable.” The Judge highlighted the prolonged threat, noting: “He must have been terrified. Brandishing a weapon as you were, he was undoubtedly terrified of what was going to happen to him and he bravely refused to get into the boot and managed to escape.” Allison was later arrested and initially denied the offences, claiming the two drivers were involved in a conspiracy to rob him. He had 19 previous convictions, including for assault and theft.
VIOLENT CO DOWN OFFENDER JAILED FOR ATTACK ON TAXI DRIVER
Jamie Love, 25, of Killyleagh was handed a three-year sentence at Belfast Crown Court on October 6, for assaulting a taxi driver. The sentence
was split equally
between custody and supervised licence. The court heard that on February 12, 2023, police were called to a scene where they observed the wounded taxi driver “covered in blood” following the assault by Love. Sentencing him, Judge Gordon
30
Kerr KC stated the taxi driver was “providing a public service” and was “entitled to
the
court’s protection.” Love subsequently pleaded guilty to a charge of assault occasioning ABH. Judge Kerr noted Love’s criminal record, which includes several prior violent offences, adding: “It’s perfectly clear that this man has a
tendency to be a violent offender.” In addition to the assault, Love was given a two-year conditional discharge for a separate charge of child cruelty that occurred on July 20, 2021. Regarding the child cruelty charge, Judge Kerr noted that “the child is now safe and the defendant has no access to the child.” He imposed the same conditional discharge on Love as he had previously given to the co-accused.
NOVEMBER 2025 PHTM
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