Maidstone

A hit-and-run taxi driver has lost his job after knocking down and injuring a 13-year-old girl before fleeing the scene.

The teenage victim appeared in court in her school uniform this week and gave evidence via a video link.

She described the moment Antony Pout, of Reeves cab service, drove towards her and clipped her leg, knocking her to the ground.

Pout, 49, pleaded his innocence, claiming he did not realise he had struck the schoolgirl, but district judge Justin Barron was not persuaded.

He ruled at Maidstone Magistrates’ Court that Pout had made an “error of judgment” and found him guilty of failing to stop after an accident.

The youngster, who cannot be named for legal reasons, needed hospital treatment after she suffered bruising to her left leg and ankle and grazes to her hands and knees.

She took three days off school as she could not place weight on her foot after the accident at Dark Hill on January 21, last year.

She said: “I was walking to school with my friends, along Bysing Wood Road and down Dark Hill, at around 8am.

“I looked both ways and could see a taxi coming over the hill but it was far away and I thought it was safe, so we began to cross.

“I got to the middle of the road and could see the taxi was going pretty fast so I sped up my walking. I was a few steps away from the pavement when the taxi hit my leg.

“It stopped for a few seconds and then drove off.”

The girl was checked over by paramedics before being taken to William Harvey Hospital for further treatment.

Alison Rigden, who was in her car at the junction of Stonebridge Way, was the first to call both the police and ambulance to the scene. She told the court: “I could see it was going to happen.

“I saw the taxi and could see it was slowing down, but not enough, because it hit the girl and she fell onto the ground.

“I could not believe what I had seen. The cab stopped for about two or three seconds before driving off. The girl was hobbling, holding on to a fence, tears streaming down her face.”

Pout voluntarily handed himself in to Faversham police station on the same day after officers made inquiries at Reeves’ main office in Preston Street.

The court was told he has been driving for 33 years – 16 as a cabbie – and had never had an accident or conviction.

There were no marks or scuffs on the taxi, a Skoda Octavia.

Pout said: “In my opinion I had not been involved in an accident.”

Asked if that was the case, why had he stopped, he replied: “I wanted to check whether there was any problem because someone had sworn at me, but I was satisfied there was no issue.”

Defending Pout, Patrick Cuffe suggested that the car had not struck the girl at all and she had tripped and fallen to the ground after a game of ‘chicken’.

He asked the girl: “Was it not the case you were playing chicken, you were dodging in and out of the traffic, and you tripped up onto the floor?”

But Mr Barron denied this was the case when he found Pout guilty and ordered him to pay £345 in fines and £650 in costs.

He was also given eight penalty points on his licence, meaning he can no longer work as a taxi driver – the limit for Swale Borough Council being six points.

District Judge Justin Barron told Pout: “I do not accept that she tripped and fell and the witness does not support that.

“The witness says she saw your vehicle hit the girl.

“While I accept your good character and unblemished driving record, I’m unable to accept your account that you were not aware an accident happened.

“You stopped because you realised that something may have happened.

“You were aware that you clipped her. You stopped but you left because you thought she hadn’t suffered injury, but you did leave and that was your error of judgment.”

http://www.kentonline.co.uk/faversham/news/cabbie-loses-job-after-injuring-49282/
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BIRMINGHAM

A TAXI driver touched a North Warwickshire woman's leg when he thought she was asleep in his cab – then robbed her of her phone after she tried to snap his registration number.

Driver Chandrakant Chavra was jailed for a total of three years – made up of six months for sexual assault and a consecutive two-and-a-half-year term for the robbery.

Chavra (55) of Newey Road, Hall Green, Birmingham, who had denied both charges but was convicted by a jury at Warwick Crown Court, was also ordered to register as a sex offender for seven years.

The jury heard that in October 2014, after drinking on a night out in Birmingham with work colleagues, a young woman in her 20s got a taxi back to her home in North Warwickshire.

She approached Chavra's taxi and agreed a fare of £25, which she paid in advance, and fell asleep in the cab.

Seeing this in his rear view mirror, Chavra pulled up, got out and opened the rear door.

She was startled by his hand on her knee or thigh, and the married taxi driver made his intentions quite clear by asking her if she wanted to 'play'. Scared by his advance, she 'rebuffed him in no uncertain terms', and he back into the front and set off again. During the journey her employer phoned her to see if she had got home safely, and she told him what had happened.

That caused Chavra to panic, and instead of taking the young woman home, he pulled off the road onto some rough ground off Castle Drive in Coleshill.

Judge Alan Parker said he had clearly done that so he could drive away before his victim had time to get help.

He told Chavra: "When she got out of the vehicle she showed the greatest presence of mind because, as you were about to drive away, she pointed her phone at the rear of your taxi and attempted to take a photograph of the number.

"The camera flashed, and you saw the flash and realised what she had done; and you stopped the taxi and got out with the determined intention of getting her iPhone from her."

The woman had told the jury that Chavra had run at her and knocked or wrestled her to the floor where he successfully tried to get her phone from her.

Denying the sexual assault in court, Chavra claimed it had been a misunderstanding, and that he had stopped because of concerns for his passenger's health and wanted another £5 for the journey. Of the robbery, he claimed he had been going to return the phone – but Judge Parker said it had been 'a determined attempt' to obtain what he thought was incriminating evidence.

Guy Williamson, defending, said that as a result of the incident Chavra, who had been a taxi driver for 18 years and was of previous good character, had lost his taxi driver's licence.

http://www.tamworthherald.co.uk/Taxi-driver-
jailed-assault/story-28518850-detail/story.html

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EAST HAMPSHIRE

A TAXI firm could lose its licence because of the way it has “degraded” an East Hampshire beauty spot with its mobile advert.

That’s the claim of the district councillor who represents Rowlands Castle as complaints continue about the advertising trailer that’s been frequently left by The Green.

The trailer, which features an advert for an airport transfer service, has been left unattended at the side of the road on several occasions since its first appearance in July.

Malcolm Johnson told Rowlands Castle Parish Council on Monday to “watch this space” before adding that the firm’s licence could be reviewed if transgressions continued.

He said: “The company has now been invited to a formal recorded interview under caution at East Hampshire District Council in light of this matter.
“Not only was it looked at as a police contravention but it’s also a planning contravention in regards to an unlicensed advert, so it’s a two-pronged attack.”

http://www.petersfieldpost.co.uk/article.cfm?id=102449&headline=Taxi%20firm