Edinburgh

Twinkle-toed taxi drivers in Edinburgh have impressed Dance Base bosses as they battle to become brilliant ­ballerinas.

The drivers have been put through weeks of hard-core ballet tuition so they can front-up a Creative Scotland-backed initiative to encourage people to dance. And the results are said to be impressive.

A filmed performance they’re set to appear in will be used to publicise “Get Scotland Dancing” – to the delight of staff at Dance Base, in the Grassmarket, who took on the task of transforming the ­lumbering cabbies into ­graceful dancing gazelles.

A spokeswoman for Dance Base said: “They’ve blown us away with what they have learned.”

The guys – all from Central Taxis – have a long standing relationship with the dance company, as they ferry their workers to rehearsals and appearances in the city. Central Taxi’s boss Tony Kenmuir, 44, of Corstorphine, said it was this connection that resulted in Dance Base asking if drivers “would be up for taking part in a little video they were putting together to ­illustrate that dancing is for everyone, no matter their age, size or experience”.

He added: “They were looking for people with no experience, the more unfit the better – I wonder why they thought taxi drivers might fit the bill!”

For the last three weeks Mr Kenmuir and five of his workers have been rehearsing solidly – to the point where they now feel pretty accomplished. And – despite being thrust into the task by the “women in the office” – Mr Kenmuir says he’s really enjoying himself.

He said: “Any self-consciousness pretty much melted away within the first five minutes and we’ve all gotten quite in to it. We even organised a couple of extra rehearsals at ­people’s houses so we could really try and get our moves down. Or as down as we’re going to get them. I won’t lie – we’re still far from perfect! But I think that’s the whole point – getting professionals to do it would defeat the purpose. This is about showing dance really is for absolutely everyone.”

Fellow dancer Keith “Too Tall” McCall, 44, agrees that the process has been “surprisingly fun”, though he admits when it comes to dancing, he has “two left feet”.

He said: “Tony told me about the project and I thought it sounded like an interesting thing to do, but I know from experience that I am a terrible dancer. But my wife encouraged me to go along, she said I might learn something. I doubt I’ll be winning any competitions soon, but they’re going to be filming for a couple of hours when they make the video, so hopefully they’ll just use the good bits.”

The group has already delighted tourists and locals alike with an impromptu display at ­Edinburgh Castle Esplanade – which is on our website.

But for the Central Taxis dancing drivers, it really is the taking part that counts.

Stevie Valente, 50, said: “I immediately agreed to get involved. It’s something different and interesting to do and I’m really enjoying it. I told my wife, but I kept it a secret from my daughters. I can’t wait to show them that their old dad can still surprise them!”

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Kings Lynn

A teenager who died after being struck by a taxi had been walking in the middle of a main road at night, an inquest has heard.
Aiden Miles Vandenborn, of Downham Market, Norfolk, was hit on the A10 shortly after midnight on 14 December. He died later of multiple injuries.
Coroner Jacqueline Lake told King's Lynn County Court that he died as a result of a traffic collision.
She added that the driver Christopher Davies was not to blame for his death.
The inquest heard Aiden had been walking with two friends along the A10 to a petrol station at Bexwell, Downham Market, to buy tobacco. 
The hearing was told Louisa Cirillo and Dean Brook had walked on a verge facing on-coming traffic, but Aiden had walked in the middle of the road next to the white line. 
Mr Brook said Aiden had been drinking but was "his normal self". 
Mr Davies said he did not see anyone in the middle of the road and was "showered with glass" when his windscreen smashed.
He pulled over and found Aiden laying in the road.
Following the 17-year-old's death, a Facebook page set up in his memory was sabotaged by what Norfolk Police said was a "persistent internet troll". 
In September, the force said no action would be taken as the perpetrator lived outside the UK.
The page has since been removed. 

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Pendle

TAXI drivers who illegally ply for hire outside pubs in Pendle could face prosecution.

The warning comes as Pendle Council launched a crackdown on both Hackney and private hire taxis picking up fares near the White Bear Inn, the George and Dragon and the Thatch and Thistle pub in Barrowford.

Taxi driver associations welcomed the action, but called for more immediate punishments for those who flout the law.

Prosecutions in these circumstances are carried out by local councils rather than police. Private hire taxis are only insured when booked through a rank and Hackney carriages are not allowed to wait in places other than designated spots to pick up trade.

Charlie Oakes, chairman of the Hackney Carriage Association, said: “The council should have a substantial crackdown on unlawful plying for hire. These people should be prosecuted. It has to stop.”

The council has agreed to carry out more plying for hire exercises to issue warnings to drivers.

A similar exercise carried out over two days in June in Barrowford, Fence and Colne saw nine private hire drivers and nine Hackney cab drivers issued warning notices.

Council leader Joe Cooney said councillors wanted to come to an agreement with drivers illegally picking up customers before it became necessary to prosecute.

He said: “We are going to try to work with both the Hackney trade and the private hire trade before we go down the route of prosecutions. We would rather work with them to find a solution. Members of the community are going to go out with officers on a Friday night to the hotspot areas so we can see for ourselves what the situation is.

“If they do not want to agree to anything, we will go down the route of prosecutions. Our concern is safety.”