Follow PHTM
Posted on the 17th February 2025 in PHTM News
KNIFE WIELDING MAN STEALS PORT TALBOT TAXI AFTER FARE DISPUTE
A taxi passenger who refused to pay his fare before stealing the vehicle and subsequently being found in possession of two knives has been sentenced.
Jeremy Higgins appeared at Swansea Crown Court after the incident which left the taxi driver feeling "anxious and stressed" at work.
The court heard that Higgins and another man ordered a taxi in the early hours of 23 November last year from an address in Port Talbot. Upon arrival, both passengers exited the vehicle without paying.
Around 40 minutes later, Higgins contacted the driver again, requesting a pick-up from another location and promising to pay for both journeys. After a 20-minute wait, Higgins approached the taxi but refused to pay. The court heard the taxi driver alighted from the cab to speak to Higgins who then pushed the driver in the chest before jumping into the driver's seat and driving off towards the seafront.
The cabbie contacted the police and then headed towards the seafront himself, where he found his damaged vehicle near the RNLI lifeboat station. Higgins was still inside the car and appeared to be searching the interior.
Police arrived and arrested the 31-year-old, finding two knives on his person.
In a victim impact statement, the taxi driver described the incident's effect on his livelihood, stating that it left him "anxious and stressed" and "very nervous" when picking up passengers.
He also revealed that he only had third-party insurance, and the damage to his cab cost £683 to repair.
Higgins pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicle taking and two counts of possession of a bladed article. He had originally been charged with robbery, but the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) opted for the lesser charge of aggravated vehicle taking, a decision Judge Paul Thomas KC called "very fortunate" for the defendant.
The judge also questioned the taxi driver's choice of only having third-party insurance.
Higgins, who has previous convictions for theft, drug possession, and possession of bladed articles, was sentenced to 12 months in prison (four months for aggravated vehicle taking and eight months for knife possession), to run consecutively.
He was also disqualified from driving for 12 months.
Read another story
- DRUNK THUG WHO TERRORISED CABBIE IN DEAD-END ROBBERY IN LIVERPOOL JAILED FOR 56 MONTHS
Vincent O'Connor, just one month after being released from prison for a similar offence, choked and robbed Kenneth Green, stealing his day's earnings.
- PRIVATE HIRE DRIVER TO PAY £1,600 FOR ILLEGAL PLYING FOR HIRE AT READING FESTIVAL
Hammad Ashraf Khan Manj, from Slough, offered a ride to Slough train station from near the festival site on Tessa Road.
- GMB SHOWS COMMITMENT TO DRIVERS AT LAUNCH OF ROCHDALE BANGLEDESHI PH AND TAXI ASSOCIATION
The Rochdale event brought together PH and taxi drivers, MPs, Rochdale BC leadership, Trade Union reps, GM Police and community leaders to push for better conditions in the sector.
- BLACKBURN TAXI OR PRIVATE HIRE VEHICLE LICENCES TO BE SUSPENDED FOR FAILED MOTS
This new rule means drivers will be prohibited from operating until the vehicle is repaired and retested.
- ABERDEEN TAXI TEST BRIBERY SCANDAL FUELS LICENSING DEBATE
Kashif Iftikhar, after failing the 80-question Street Knowledge Test a staggering twelve times, offered invigilators between £700 and £800 to pass, according to reports.
- MANCHESTER AIRPORT'S BARRIER-FREE PARKING SYSTEM SPARKS CONTROVERSY
Instead of stopping at barriers, drivers will be logged by ANPR and will have until midnight the following day to pay online or by phone.
- NEWCASTLE-UNDER-LYME BC ORDERED TO PAY COSTS TO TAXI COMPANY OWNER FOR 'IMPROPER' PROSECUTION
The defendant was the co-owner of Lucky Seven Taxis, operating in the Midlands, which had applied for new operating licences after the death of a co-owner in late 2021.
- WHEELCHAIR TAXI SHORTAGE LEAVES USERS ISOLATED IN NORTHERN IRELAND
Some disabled people are being forced to choose between staying home, risking being stranded, or relying on the police for transport.
- GREATER MANCHESTER ORDERED TO REPAY £22.5 MILLION FUNDING ORIGINALLY FOR CLEAN TAXI FUND
Greater Manchester will now focus on spending £51 million on cleaner buses, £5 million on traffic management, and £8 million for taxi fleet upgrades.
- CARDIFF COUNCIL GRANTS HELP TAXI DRIVERS TO CUT EMISSIONS
A Cardiff Council scheme which has provided more than £200,000 of grants to enable the city's taxi drivers to upgrade to more fuel efficient or fully electric vehicles.
- BURNLEY PRIVATE HIRE FIRM FIRES DRIVER AFTER ASSISTANCE DOG REFUSAL
A Burnley private hire company, Apollo Taxis, has terminated its relationship with a driver after he refused to transport a disabled passenger and her assistance dog.
- FIFE TAXI DRIVERS ACCUSED OF ILLEGALLY OPERATING IN DUNDEE, SPARKING COUNCIL PROBE
A video showing a Fife-licensed taxi driver being confronted in Dundee has ignited a probe into allegations of illegal operation by Fife taxis across city lines.
- TAXI DRIVER LICENCE RESTORED AFTER INAPPROPRIATE BANTER BUT NO EVIDENCE OF GROOMING
The driver was accused of inappropriate conversations of a sexual nature with a vulnerable young adult, including suggesting a holiday together in Benidorm and making comments about her nightwear.
- PETERBOROUGH TAXI DRIVERS FEAR FOR FUTURE OVER ISSUES WITH UBER DRIVERS AT RAILWAY STATION
Mahmood Khan, a taxi driver for over 40 years, and fellow cabbie Jake Carter allege that some Uber drivers are flouting regulations by waiting at the station without pre-booked fares, effectively poaching passengers.
- RYANAIR CEO, MICHAEL OLEARY'S, ONE TAXI LOOPHOLE FOR BUS LANE ACCESS
In 2004, O'Leary registered his personal Mercedes-Benz S-Class as a taxi under the name "O'Leary Cabs," a move that granted him a legal loophole to drive in Dublin's bus lanes.
- WATFORD TAXI FIRE INVESTIGATED AS ARSON ATTACK
A taxi was deliberately set on fire in Watford in the early hours of Friday, February 14th, prompting a police investigation.
- MAN WITH SEXUAL ASSAULT CAUTION LOSES TAXI LICENCE APPEAL IN BUCKS
Basit Ali, who accepted the caution in 2012, has been denied a hackney carriage and private hire licence four times since then – in 2015, 2016, 2018, and most recently, in 2023.
- CARLISLE WOMAN WHO RACIALLY ABUSED AND ASSAULTED CABBIE TAGGED AND TO PAY COMPENSATION
A Carlisle woman has admitted racially aggravated assault after attacking a taxi driver.
- DRUNK DRIVING PRIVATE HIRE DRIVER ARRESTED AFTER CRASHING INTO WELCOME TO BOLTON SIGN
The incident occurred on Friday, 14 February, after dark, when a silver car, reportedly being used as a taxi, collided with the sign on a motorway approach to Bolton.
- LIVERPOOL TAXI DRIVER ASSAULT: POLICE RELEASE CCTV IMAGE
Liverpool police are appealing for information after a taxi driver was violently assaulted in the city centre on Saturday night, 15 February.
