A disgusting lout spat in a private hire driver's face after he was refused a lift home.

David Lye approached the cabbie on Clayton Street in Newcastle city centre on August 27 this year, but saw red when he was told he couldn't take fares off the street because he was private hire.

Newcastle Magistrates' Court heard that the 62-year-old spat through the open driver's window and into the victim's face, while shouting abuse.

Lye, of Scotswood, Newcastle, then threatened the driver, who had got out his car, with one of his crutches before the police were flagged down and he was arrested.

The thug has now been ordered to pay the victim £200 in compensation after he appeared at Newcastle Magistrates' Court to plead guilty to assault by beating.

In a statement, the victim said: "This incident left me angry and frustrated. I have lost income due to not being able to take fares while reporting this incident to the police."

The court heard that Lye had numerous offences on his record, including for violence, but they had recently been mainly related to theft.

Sentencing him, District Judge Paul Currer told Lye: "You spat in his face through a window - that's an appalling, truly awful and terrible thing to do."

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Officers from North Yorkshire Police have issued a CCTV image of a man they would like to speak to following an incident in Malton where a taxi fare has not been paid.

It happened at approximately 1.40am on Sunday October 27 on North Road when a man asked for a taxi back to Malton.

He asked the driver to drop him on North Road before running out of the taxi without paying the fare of £49.20.

Officers are asking anyone who recognises the man pictured on CCTV to get in touch, as he may have information that will assist their investigation.

Email ed.chatland@northyorkshire.police.uk if you can help or call North Yorkshire Police on 101, and ask for Ed Chatland.

Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or via their website.

Quote reference 12240196443 when passing on information.

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A private hire driver involved in a road collision which injured a pedestrian will be free to resume his job after a 12-week suspension.

The panel of councillors looked into alleged ‘misconduct’ by a private hire driver.

Published minutes of the Bolton Council licensing panel meeting said: “The committee believes that the driver did collide with a pedestrian in his vehicle based on the information from the passenger witness, the injured party and the police.

“The injured party sustained a fracture which the committee felt was consistent with a vehicle collision and the committee was most concerned with the driver’s honesty and the level to which he had gone to cover up the incident.

“The driver provided false information when interviewed and failed to comply with the conditions of his licence.

“The driver failed to inform the council of the incident within the initial 72 hours.”

The driver and two representatives attended the meeting. The panel was told of the driver’s incident free 20 years of driving.

A motion to revoke the taxi driver’s licence completely was defeated by a majority of six to three councillors. The report, added: “The committee therefore did not wish to revoke the driver’s licences entirely but rather sanction for the collision, dishonesty and failure to notify.

“There is therefore reasonable cause to suspend the private hire driver’s licence and the private hire vehicle licence for a period of 12 weeks.”

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Worcestershire Regulator Services reports carrying out spot checks on taxi and private hire vehicles in Redditch late last night, Saturday 16 November.

Supported by colleagues from West Mercia Police and the taxi engineer at Redditch Borough Council - three licences were suspended due to the vehicles having defects that made them unsafe.

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Leeds City Council Taxi and Private Hire Licensing Service wish to consult the hackney carriage trade on a proposal to require all hackney carriage vehicles have a functioning cashless payment facility available for customers.

With the growth and popularity of customers now choosing cashless payments in the UK, it is reasonable to ensure that hackney carriage vehicles have facilities to offer cashless payments if requested by the customer.

The majority of hackney carriage drivers currently offer a cashless payment option. By introducing the option to allow customers to pay using cashless payment facilities in all hackney carriage vehicles, this will offer the travelling public added safety and convenience as they will not need to carry cash or worry about not having enough money on them for the fare, or being stranded with no means of getting to their destination.

For drivers this will also be a decreased security risk, reducing the need for drivers to carry around large amounts of cash.

To be clear, cash payments will still be accepted. This consultation is regarding offering customers the option to use a cashless payment option if required.

To assist with this consultation process, please click the link below to complete this survey:

https://surveys.leeds.gov.uk/s/6SBQY0/

It should take you about two to three minutes to answer all the questions. The last day that you can respond is Saturday 30th November 2024.

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