IN THE NEWS
HIJACKED SOUTHPORT TAXI DRIVER TAKEN ON TWO-HOUR TERROR RIDE
An elderly taxi driver relived his two hours of terror when an armed suspect fled Southport in the back of his cab.
The popular Yellow Tops cabbie was held at knifepoint 70 miles from home after his vehicle was am- bushed by police. Speaking to the Visiter, the grandad graphical- ly recalled how officers tasered the armed suspect as he threatened to slash his throat – hours after allegedly robbing two homes.
The shaken cabbie said: “The whole thing felt like something out of the movies – but this was real life. “If the police hadn’t have acted so quickly, I
could have been killed. It was unbelievable.” The drama unfolded at 11.20am on Friday, 6 August when the driver took a job on Gordon Avenue. He simply had no idea that what seemed to be a routine journey to St Helens would turn into a terri- fying nightmare. And he had no idea that his fare had allegedly just robbed a pensioner at knife- point – and another Southport homeowner of £16,000.
He said: “I said to him: ‘That’s a nice house you’re coming out of’. “I remember asking him if he wanted to dump the holdalls he was carrying in the boot, but he said he wanted them next to
him. “We travelled a few miles before he said he wanted to go to Stoke instead and he gave me one of his two mobiles as a deposit. “He said he wanted to see his ex-wife and his son and drop off a 42- inch plasma television. He kept looking at all the nice cars, he clear- ly knew what he was on about.
“He was fairly cool and calm until we got into traffic on the M6, then he got agitated. His left leg started tap- ping away. I had no idea there was a knife is his right pocket.” The cab made its way down the southbound carriageway as police forces across the region grouped togeth-
er to launch a response. Taxi firm bosses were told to make a bogus call to the driver’s hands-free mobile as he passed Sandbach, with officers then track- ing his phone signal. John Whiteside, owner of Yellow Tops, recalled: “We didn’t know at this time where he was, if he was safe or anything.” Officers equipped with taser guns intercepted the car as it travelled along the A500, towards Stoke.
But after spotting police, the armed man pulled the knife from his pocket and held it to the driver’s neck in broad daylight.
He said: “When I felt the blade of the knife on my throat, it was
just unbelievable. I couldn’t believe it was happening.
“The police gave him one chance to give up and they tasered him. I heard ‘bang bang’ and he was on the ground. It was all over in a split second.
“If the police hadn’t acted so quickly I could have been injured or even killed. They were heroes.” After being treated at the scene for minor wounds, the driver was escorted back to Merseyside as officers revealed just who had been in his cab. He said: “I only knew about what this man was alleged to have done when I was com- ing back to Southport. I was just in absolute
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shock – I couldn’t believe it. “Thankfully, when you’ve been doing this job 30 years you seem to know a lot of the people who climb in your taxi.
“But I am finding myself looking twice at people, I guess it’s only normal after what happened.”
Marcus Darroue, from Leeds, was remanded in custody, charged with two counts of aggravated burglary, one count of making threats to kill, one count of affray, one count of possession of an offensive weapon and one count of false imprisonment.
He was due to appear at Liverpool Crown Court on August 24.
Tradex Insurance Company Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority PAGE 36 PHTM SEPTEMBER 2010
1239/160710
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