A blind man spat in a taxi driver’s face, kicked and punched him and then urinated in his cab.
The Lancashire Telegraph reports that Blackburn magistrates heard Anthony Maughan had drunk 14 or 15 pints prior to the incident.
District Judge Alexandra Preston described his behaviour as “disgusting.”
Maughan, 25, from Accrington, admitted to criminal damage to an iPhone and car seats belonging to Akmal Shahzad and assaulting him.
He was given an 18-month community order with a 30-day rehab activity requirement.
He was ordered to pay £500 compensation to Mr Shahzad with £85 costs.
District Judge Preston told Maughan: “You had drunk an enormous amount of alcohol and you tried to get in the taxi carrying a drink. The taxi driver didn’t want that and the way you behaved towards him was disgusting when he was just trying to do his job.
"All your previous convictions relate to alcohol and you are clearly someone with an alcohol problem.”
Susheela Regala, prosecuting, said the incident happened around 12.20am outside Burnley Rugby Club.
Maughan was getting a taxi back to Accrington but had a drink in his hand and was told he couldn’t take it in the taxi. The drink was taken off Maughan by a friend and there was then a dispute over paying the fare up front.
“They eventually got to the destination at which point the defendant refused to get out of the vehicle,” said Miss Regala.
“As he was getting him out of the car Maughan spat in the driver’s face and then punched him to the chest. As the struggle continued Maughan punched the driver again and then kicked him to the stomach.
"Before the driver could stop him he started to urinate into the vehicle.”
Kimberley Morton, defending, said Maughan had lost his sight after being the victim of an assault.
She added: “He doesn’t take any issue with the facts because he doesn’t remember what happened.
"He was throwing punches and kicked out but he couldn’t see the driver. It was accepted by the prosecution previously that his behaviour had been reckless.”
Wales’ leading private hire firm, Dragon Taxis, has partnered with NSPCC Cymru to donate needed funds to Childline this Christmas.
To give back this festive season, Dragon Taxis will be donating 10p from every booking made through the Dragon Taxis app during the month of December to Childline.
NSPCC Cymru provides support to children, families and professionals in caring for their children and providing therapeutic assistance to help children move on from abuse.
They run campaigns working with the Welsh Government and the National Assembly for Wales to strengthen policy and legislation and urge them to take action to better protect children, as well as hosting charitable events in Wales to raise funds.
This is not the first time that Dragon Taxis, a regional brand of the UK’s fastest-growing taxi and private hire technology platform Veezu, is supporting NSPCC Cymru, as they annually donate to the charity through their Childline Club Cymru membership.
Alison Brown, Corporate Partnership and Events Manager (South Wales) at the NSPCC, said: “While Christmas comes with expectations of happiness and fun, sadly we know at Childline that for some children it can also be an extremely lonely and frightening time. That is why we are incredibly grateful to the team at Veezu for supporting us in the run up to this festive season, as this initiative with Dragon Taxis will really make a difference.
“For children and young people in desperate need of support, Childline will be a lifeline and Veezu’s support will help us ensure that our trained counsellors can be there for every child.
"We hope the public will support this campaign and Childline in December by making a booking through the Dragon Taxis app.”
Sally Krouma, Hyperlocal Marketing Manager for Dragon Taxis, said: “We are delighted to be supporting NSPCC and their crucial work in providing safety and comfort for children all year round.
"Their work is crucially important and one that we admire strongly at Dragon Taxis, so we want to raise as much money to ensure as many children can enjoy the magic of Christmas as possible.”
One of Cornwall Council's most senior officers has admitted that the local authority is paying school-run taxi drivers too much money.
The matter arose during a discussion this week about the council's finances which have been hit by a £16 million overspend so far this year.
According to CornwallLive, home to school transport for pupils in Cornwall is one of the council's biggest expenditures and has led to a £5 million overspend during the first half of the financial year.
By the end of Quarter 2 (September 2023) the council had overspent by £14.9m, which a meeting of the customer and support services overview and scrutiny committee on Tuesday 5 December, heard has now increased to £16m.
The main areas of overspend continue to be in school transport, temporary and emergency housing (£8m) and housing benefits (£3.9m). Children in care services have also seen increased costs with an expected overspend of £4.3m on top of a council-wide pay increase of £4.1m.
The council's chief operating officer, Tracie Langley, told the scrutiny committee that home to school transport for children with additional educational needs - which can often mean a child and a carer being taken to school by taxi - is particularly expensive for the council.
Cllr Mike McLening said: "Sometimes I get the feeling that perhaps we're not as harsh as we should be when negotiating prices. You say about the taxi drivers ... 'do we let them get away with a bit on pricing?'"
Ms Langley responded that he was correct, but measures were being put in place to ensure they are paid a fair price, but one which could save the council money.
She told Cllr McLening: "I think you might be absolutely right, councillor, and we will do our best to negotiate the right price and put the right caps on our dynamic purchasing systems."
It came to light earlier this year that taxi drivers from as far away as Essex and Shropshire were driving to Cornwall to carry out school runs for Cornish pupils.
A spokesperson for the council said: "A company called 24/7 Taxis which specialises in school transport and operates across multiple local authorities, has established titself in Cornwall. The company is employing new drivers locally and its Cornwall operation is based here.
"The demand for school transport is growing and, until now, we have not had enough taxi companies to cater for this need - about 30 transport routes for around 60 to 70 students.
"As the company is in the process of establishing itself, it is temporarily supplementing the local workforce with drivers from other areas of their business.
"Cornwall Council is not paying for the temporary relocation of staff, the cost of their travel to and from Cornwall or their accommodation. It is very much a short-term measure while more drivers come through the required checks and processes before they can start work."
Source: https://www.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-news/cornwall-council-admits-pays-school-8955848
A man who passed out in the back of a taxi was found with more than half a kilo of cannabis and over £1,000 in cash in a bag.
According to NorthWalesLive, police and paramedics were called after Lee Ainsworth, 30, became unresponsive.
Medics found he was not having a medical episode but was intoxicated. The bag was found, and he was arrested before admitting possession with intent to supply cannabis.
On Wednesday 6 December, a judge heard he has been diagnosed with schizophrenia but is being treated and is turning his life around.
He said he could be rehabilitated and gave him a 12-month jail term, suspended for 18 months.
Prosecutor Oliver King told Mold Crown Court taxi driver Peter James had gone to pick up the defendant from an address in Colwyn Bay on October 25 last year at 9.15am.
When he arrived he found Ainsworth in the garden smoking a cigarette. He smelt cannabis and was "chatting quite normally".
Ainsworth got into the taxi with a black rucksack but said he didn't feel well. He asked to go to Rhos-on-Sea but changed his mind and asked for Llandudno Junction.
"He appeared to fall asleep and there was no drop off point," said Mr King. The taxi driver pulled over but couldn't rouse Ainsworth who was completely unresponsive, the court heard.
Mr King said: "He was sufficiently concerned to call an ambulance and a first aider from Boots came out to assist."
An ambulance duly arrived and paramedic Dafydd Williams also found the passenger to be unresponsive but he then became agitated and kicked and lashed out.
Mr Williams asked for police to attend. It was established it wasn't a medical emergency and Ainsworth was probably intoxicated. He was put onto a trolley to get him into an ambulance.
But when the paramedic looked into his black rucksack for any identification he saw a large amount of what appeared to be cannabis and handed the bag to a police officer, PC Tom Williams.
The police found 631.74 grams of cannabis and £1,041.02 in cash.
The defendant was arrested and handcuffed but became aggressive.
He said he had bought the cannabis in bulk over a long period and the cash was payment for work for a friend. But he would not provide the friend's name.
Matthew Dunford, defending, said his client had struggled with his mental health, drugs and alcohol. He had been released from custody and was self-medicating when the offence took place.
He has been diagnosed with schizophrenia but is receiving treatment. He has moved to County Down in Northern Ireland where his mother lives and has joined a barber's club and a church.
The judge His Honour Niclas Parry told the defendant: "A lot of drugs, a lot of money, a lot of potential harm." But he added: "It's not an exaggeration to say I can find you have transformed your life...with the support of your local community.
"There's a realistic prospect of you being rehabilitated. I believe you are on the way."
He gave Ainsworth a 12-month jail term, suspended for 18 months. He must wear an electronic tag during a four-month curfew between 6pm and 6am.
The cannabis will be forfeited and destroyed.
Source: https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/man-who-passed-out-taxi-28238355
Cash-strapped Kirklees Council has spent almost £5.5m on taxi fares for school children between April and October this year.
Around 3,000 Kirklees pupils qualify for free school transport for a variety of reasons, including having Special Educational Needs or coming from a family with a low income.
Between the start of the financial year in April and October 31, there have been 101 days of Kirklees’ school term. A total of £5.45m was spent on school taxis in this time, a Freedom of Information request has shown. This works out at an average cost to the council of just over £54k each day of term.
Fifty taxi firms are on the council’s books for the same period, with some earning as much as £10,500 a day during term-time to take children to and from school. In the last five years, the local authority’s total bill for school taxi fares has exceeded £36.9m.
In addition to this, 300 pupils of sixth-form age are eligible to have their costs covered by the council, resulting in a further £2.6m being spent on transport costs in the previous financial year. This equates to an average of £8.6k per student, and with costs rapidly rising, the council says this will eventually become unsustainable.
A Kirklees Council spokesperson said: “Many councils must provide free school transport for children and young people of school age who qualify for this support.
“This is a legal requirement and eligibility is based on national legislation. Free transport is provided for a wide range of families - such as those with low incomes or where the child has additional needs – and is designed to ensure learners do not miss out on vital opportunities."
The council also stated that the cost of school transport has seen a significant increase on a national scale, with local authorities up and down the country facing the same pressures. They also wanted to assure the public that they use a competitive tendering process to seek the best value for money.
The spokesperson continued: “In addition, all transport operators must be accredited by meeting strict criteria around safeguarding checks and training.
“We are looking to make savings across all school transport options whilst still ensuring pupils can access their place of education.
“One of the changes we are looking to make is in the way that young people of sixth-form age are helped to access education if they qualify for travel assistance.
“All councils have to produce a ‘Transport Statement’ setting out these arrangements for eligible pupils. Other local authorities have already changed their Transport Statement and we are currently seeking views on a similar process for Kirklees.
“We do not expect that any changes will involve young people with the greatest level of need, such as those who require specially adapted vehicles or specialist support.
“A consultation has recently opened about changes to post-16 transport and it can be found at: https://www.kirklees.gov.uk/beta/schools/post16-transport-consultation.aspx
“Like other local authorities, we are reviewing our transport services in light of financial effectiveness and in response to the changing needs of our young people.
“Our work to support school attendance is essential in helping children to achieve good outcomes, to enjoy the best start in life and to fulfil their long-term potential.”
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