Follow PHTM
Posted on the 21st February 2025 in PHTM News
DRUNK THUG WHO TERRORISED CABBIE IN DEAD-END ROBBERY IN LIVERPOOL JAILED FOR 56 MONTHS
A veteran taxi driver was violently robbed near Anfield Stadium after being lured down a dead-end road by his passenger. 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.
O'Connor, 37, hired Green for a £70 fare from Eccles in Greater Manchester to Liverpool on 2 November last year. Prosecutor Katie Appleton told Liverpool Crown Court that O'Connor had initially tried to haggle the price down to £65, but Green insisted on the agreed-upon £70 upfront.
As they neared their destination, O'Connor, a former gang member, directed Green down a dead-end street. There, he grabbed Green from behind and violently twisted his neck. After Green handed over an empty wallet, O'Connor sneered: "Do you think I'm wet?" and bit him on the cheek.
Green then gave him another wallet containing £140. O'Connor demanded more and the car keys, but Green pleaded with him, and he eventually fled with the cash, discarding the wallet in a bin.
The impact on Green has been profound. "The victim said he has been a taxi driver for 34 years and has never experienced something so violent in all that time," Ms. Appleton relayed to the court. "He says the incident has left him frightened; he had taken a week off work and didn't know whether he would return to work. He says: 'This incident has changed me. I don't feel safe to work anymore.'"
O'Connor has a staggering 47 prior convictions for 95 offences, including a 2021 robbery where he threatened a woman with an angle-grinder.
Judge David Swinnerton, sentencing O'Connor in absentia after he refused to appear in court, emphasised the severity of the crime. "He had been drinking heavily that day. He had been drinking heavily on previous days which caused him to behave aggressively. That culminated in this offence," the judge stated.
He added: "This now is the second robbery within a very short space of time. A high level of physical force was used in the most recent robbery."
O'Connor was sentenced to four years and eight months in prison for the robbery, with an extended licence of five years due to the danger he poses to the public and the high risk of re-offending.
Read another story
- 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.
- KNIFE WIELDING MAN STEALS PORT TALBOT TAXI AFTER FARE DISPUTE
Jeremy Higgins appeared at Swansea Crown Court after the incident which left the taxi driver feeling "anxious and stressed" at work.
- 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.
