A vehicle was stolen from a taxi driver at knifepoint in the early hours.
According to the St Helens Star, a teenager has been arrested following the robbery in Thatto Heath in the early hours of this morning, Wednesday, April 19.
At about 1.30am officers received a report that a car was stolen from a taxi driver at knifepoint on Hempstead Close.
Four men approached the vehicle of the taxi driver when he stopped to pick up a fare on Hempstead Close.
Three of the men got into the car, while another man opened the driver’s side door and threatened him with a knife.
As the victim got out of the car the offenders made off in the vehicle, which was a silver Skoda Octavia.
A 17-year-old boy from St Helens has been arrested on suspicion of robbery and the car has been recovered by police.
The suspect was taken to a police station where he remains in custody.
Extensive CCTV and witness inquiries into the incident remain ongoing as detectives continue their investigation in the area.
Detective Chief Inspector John Fitzgerald said: “Thanks to the immediate response and actions of our officers we have arrested a teenage boy and recovered the vehicle this morning in St Helens.
“I hope this response shows that such violence in a residential area where families live will not be tolerated in our community and we are determined to find anyone who was responsible and bring them to justice.
“Our detectives would still like to hear from anyone who was on Hempstead Close or was in the area at around 1.30am and saw the car involved or anything suspicious.
“I would also urge anyone who lives in the area and has any doorbell footage to check your devices in case they captured the incident or anything suspicious from the early hours of this morning.
“Any piece of information could prove vital in our enquiries and prevent such violence in our community.”
Source: https://www.sthelensstar.co.uk/news/23465712.taxi-drivers-vehicle-stolen-knifepoint-thatto-heath/
Taxi rates are set to rise in Inverclyde from the middle of next month after councillors finalised new charging scales.
The Greenock Telegraph reports that members of the local authority's General Purposes Board have given final approval to taxi trade proposals to increase 'flag fall' fees and running mile rates.
The new tariffs will take effect from May 14 and could see fares rise by as much as 12 per cent.
The board had initially approved the rates at a meeting in February and put them out to a public consultation which received no objections or representations.
Hirings from ranks or 'flag' hirings between 6am and 11pm will now have a maximum initial charge of £3.08, up from £2.75, with the first mile of the journey costing approximately £4.13.
For the same types of hirings started between 11pm and 6am, the charge ceiling has been raised to £3.19, with the approximate cost of the first mile rising by 50 pence to £4.59.
Certain types of hirings on Easter Monday, May Day, Fair Saturday and September 26 will carry a maximum initial fee of £3.42.
Pre-booked hirings and those from ranks or 'flag' hirings on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year's Day and January 2 will have a initial cost cap of £5.99, which is also the first mile cost for such bookings.
Source: https://www.greenocktelegraph.co.uk/news/23455106.inverclyde-taxi-fares-date-revealed-rise-charges/
A cabbie who was high on drugs while behind the wheel has failed to have his licence reinstated.
KentLive reports that Shamin Ali was stopped by Kent Police in April last year and tested positive for drug driving.
Officers made Ali carry out a roadside drug swipe, which he failed. He tested positive for cannabis, which was also found in his car, and he was arrested.
On April 25, 2022, Ashford Borough Council brought Ali in for questioning. As he had been driving while under the influence of drugs, had lied to the police, had been in possession of cannabis and had failed to notify the licensing authority of his arrest, the council decided to revoke his licence immediately.
However, Ali appealed the decision and a hearing took place on Friday, March 31, 2023, at Margate Magistrates' Court.
The court took evidence and was "completely satisfied" that the council had made the right decision to revoke Ali's licence in the interest of public safety. The appeal was dismissed.
Sheila Davison, Ashford Borough Council’s assistant director for safety and wellbeing, said: “The role of the council is to ensure public safety and confidence in our taxi drivers. If we believe a licenced driver is failing in this regard we will not hesitate to take action such as issuing a warning, penalty points, suspension or, if necessary, revoke their licence.
“We are pleased that the court saw fit to agree with our decision and that members of the public continue to be assured of their safety when using taxi drivers holding a licence issued by the council.”
Ali was ordered to pay £600 towards the costs incurred by the council to defend the action.
Source: https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/cabbie-who-caught-driving-high-8351132
An early morning brawl outside a private hire office saw a worker, who brandished a weapon himself, left with a fractured skull.
The Lancashire Telegraph reports that following the incident on December 27, 2021, outside Rapid and Chippys Private Hire in Darwen, drivers held a strike on New Year’s Eve.
Stephen Parker, prosecuting at Preston Crown Court, said Lewis Goulden, 22, Jamshed Ahmed, 23, and Rizwan Munir, 36, were each heavily involved in the brawl on Railway Road.
The fight broke out at about 6am at the base in Railway Road, with an altercation beginning inside before a 10-minute brawl in the street.
Mr Parker said: “The whole thing started when staff came out into the street after an altercation in the office.
“Goulden retaliated, hitting Ahmed in the head.
“Ahmed brandished a brush and was swinging it at people.
“Munir came out brandishing a wooden stick or pole – it’s understood he was working at the taxi office as the operations manager.”
During the brawl, Goulden threw a brick at Ahmed, who was working at the base, which left him with a fractured skull.
Ahmed was also attacking people with his wooden brush, and Munir came out brandishing another wooden weapon.
A woman trying to break it up managed to get a weapon off one of the men, and a man who was also trying to break it up was hit twice in the legs by Ahmed.
The fight calmed down shortly after and Goulden walked away before being followed by Ahmed and Munir. It was at that point police arrived.
Judge Darren Preston said each of the men were just as much to blame as each other for their involvement in the fight, but accepted Goulden played a more significant role due to the injury sustained by Ahmed.
Mitigating for Goulden, Niamh Ingham, said her client was of previous good character and he is very remorseful about his actions.
She added he was not the first to brandish a weapon and he has not been in any trouble since the fight.
Mitigating for Munir, Saleema Mahmood said her client was going to ‘protect Ahmed’ who is his nephew.
She added he only used the weapon ‘two or three times’, but accepted he was brandishing it even when not using it.
Mitigating for Ahmed, Clare Thomas said he suffered a fractured skull as a result of Goulden throwing a brick at him and was the only person to suffer a significant injury as a result of the affray.
Ms Thomas added Ahmed was also of previous good character and he was unable to go back to work at the family business for six months after the incident.
Judge Darren Preston called the fight an ‘extremely ugly incidence of violence’.
While sentencing the men, he said: “A large group used violence against one another for nearly 10 minutes with multiple items being used as weapons on both sides.
“This was a disgraceful incident which you all participated in enthusiastically.
“It matters very little who started this incident.”
Goulden received a 13-month sentence, suspended for 12 months. He must complete 140 hours of unpaid work and is subject to a curfew from 9pm until 6am for three months.
Ahmed was handed a nine-month sentence, suspended for 12 months. He must complete 100 hours of unpaid work.
Munir was handed a seven-month sentence, suspended for 12 months. He must also complete 100 hours of unpaid work.
A man has appeared in court after police stopped a PHV and found guns and ammunition in a backpack in the boot of the car.
This Is Local London reports that officers from the Met’s specialist crime unit stopped the PHV on the A4088, in Wembley, with support from specialist firearms colleagues at around 8pm on Thursday 13 April.
Police found a rucksack in the boot, inside which were five viable handguns and ammunition, Scotland Yard said.
A man aged in his 20s was arrested on suspicion of possession of firearms and ammunition.
Kayden Marks, from Wembley, appeared in custody at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court on 15 April.
The 22-year-old was charged with five counts of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life / enable another to do so, and one count of possession of ammunition with intent to endanger life / enable another to do so.
No action was taken against the PHV driver.
Following the intelligence-led operation, Det Supt Victoria Sullivan, from the specialist crime unit, said: “I have no doubt that lives will have been saved as a result of our determination to remove these types of highly dangerous weapons from the streets; London, and Londoners, are that bit safer.
“Anyone concerned in illegal firearms activity can be assured that we will investigate and work to bring them to justice.”
Source: https://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/23457436.man-arrested-guns-found-back-taxi-wembley/
A former paratrooper turned pet taxi driver is in the running for an Animal Star Award for his work in Wakefield and Pontefract.
Tariq Rehman, 75, from Stechford, had his licence removed by Solihull Council in November last year following a complaint from a passenger.
A taxi firm boss has branded the criminal justice system "broken" after new figures revealed almost a third of offenders in the town reoffended within a year.
Dramatic CCTV footage has captured the moment a hooded figure set a taxi alight on a residential driveway.
A Drongan taxi driver has been convicted of sexually assaulting a female passenger after offering to waive her fare in exchange for sex.
Artur Nowostawski has been jailed for six years and nine months after he attacked a taxi driver earlier this year.
Taxi drivers in the city are facing significant financial losses after a series of electric vehicle charging point failures left them unable to operate.
Police are appealing for help to trace a man who disappeared after getting into a taxi bound for the Otley area of Leeds.
The company’s operator licence includes a condition ordering all drivers to undergo the same training as those from other companies.
Police have stopped a private hire driver who was driving the wrong way on the M1 close to Junction 8 at Hemel Hempstead.
Newcastle City Council is set to introduce strict new measures to tackle illegal and inconsiderate parking near Newcastle International Airport.
West Mercia Police is appealing for information following a rape that took place in Malvern's Priory Park early on Sunday, August 4th.
Glasgow taxi users could be facing a near-10% fare increase and extended night-time charges.
At least 14 cars have been damaged since June, with drivers suffering financial loss and emotional distress.
The attack happened at around 12.45pm on Etruria Vale Road, Stoke, when the victim, driving a Toyota Avensis, was punched in the face by one of the men.
Cumberland Council has taken decisive action to protect public safety by revoking the licence of a taxi driver charged last week with a serious racially aggravated offence.
A historic bridge has been closed indefinitely after an Uber car became wedged on Saturday morning.
A local councillor has sparked a debate on passenger safety after claiming that using locally licensed taxis is safer than hailing an Uber.
A taxi driver was attacked and subjected to racist abuse after two brothers refused to pay him up front.
Christopher Hilling, 64, admitted to engaging a child in sexual activity at Chelmsford Crown Court on Thursday 8 August.