A hard-up gym instructor forced a taxi driver to rob a bank for him by threatening him with a gun and "bombs".
Andrew Patrick held a gun at petrified Alistair Rankine before giving him a bag he said had a bomb inside.
Patrick, who pretended to be Polish, ordered the driver to steal cash from a Bank of Scotland branch in Kirkcaldy, Fife.
Mr Rankine handed over a note to staff that claimed they had only minutes to fill the bag, and that devices would go off if police were called. The letter also claimed the driver had a bomb strapped to him.
When Mr Rankine eventually left the bank with almost £10,000, Patrick was gone. Amid dramatic scenes, a team of armed police and an army bomb unit soon arrived.
The explosives were found to be fake, consisting of little more than tubes, cotton wool and a mobile phone circuit board.
Patrick was later caught following a high-profile media appeal, although initially denied being involved.
The 40-year-old is now behind bars after he admitted carrying out the assault and robbery. He will be sentenced next month.
The first offender had been working at the time as an instructor at the Fitness Factor gym in Kirkcaldy.
He was earning up to £300 per week, but prosecutor Allan Nicol said it appeared he had been having "some financial difficulties".
http://goo.gl/zMPmdF
------------------------------------
LONDON
An alliance of taxi drivers has abandoned a bid to have Uber’s licence in London declared illegal, in a blow for the black cab industry’s attempts to stamp out the ride-hailing app.
Action For Cabbies, a crowdfunded drive to launch a judicial review into Transport for London (TfL) awarding a minicab licence to the American technology giant in 2012, has failed to amass the £600,000 it needed to launch the first phase of the legal challenge.
The group is now planning to scupper TfL’s plans to have a contactless credit card reader installed in every taxi, planning to use the funds it has raised to order a judicial review of the rules set to be introduced in October
http://goo.gl/L9s46h
---------------------------------------
CHELMSFORD
A FURIOUS taxi firm boss is appealing against a parking fine given to one of his drivers after a video of the ticket being issued went viral
on Facebook.Dan Robinson, 24, who owns The Chauffeur Company, shared footage of a city council traffic warden slapping a fine on an employee's windscreen who parked on double yellow lines outside Marks and Spencer in Barrack Square – less than a minute after dropping off an elderly passenger.
The Galleywood resident claimed the video, which shows the driver remonstrating with a parking warden as an elderly female customer looks on, has been viewed more than 100,000 times in less than 24 hours.
"One of my drivers was given a ticket at about 2pm on Tuesday afternoon. He was given a £50 or £60 ticket but he'd only been there less than a minute," said Mr Robinson. "I just think it is absolutely ridiculous. We take customers to Marks and Spencer at least 30 times a day."
The taxi driver's elderly customer can be heard calling the warden a "nasty person" in the one minute, 12 second clip and claims she wouldn't be able to go into the city centre were it not for the company.
A Freedom of Information request revealed that Chelmsford City Council raked in £329,580 from the 10,732 penalty charge notices it issues to illegally parked motorists in 2014/15.
Former Moulsham High student Dan added: "Online, it seems that 98 per cent of people are sticking up for us and feel the warden was out of order.
"We're definitely going to appeal the fine. But I've got to write a letter or email to the council.
"I can't think of any reason why my driver should have been given a ticket. The taxi is a working vehicle and my driver was simply trying to earn a living."
A spokeswoman for Chelmsford City Council said: "As can be seen in the video being circulated on social media, the taxi driver was stopped on double yellow lines.
"Although his reason for doing this was to drop off his passenger, he knew that he was in contravention of the law by doing this, and the civil enforcement officer had no choice but to issue a penalty charge notice as that is the requirement of his job.
"The fine was not directed at the passenger, and it was the taxi driver's decision to stop where he did. The offensive language used on social media to refer to one of our staff is reprehensible and unacceptable, regardless of users' personal views.
http://goo.gl/HRb87F
----------------------------------------
GEDLING
A cabbie was excused a driving ban after overcharging passengers picked up outside the Queen's Medical Centre – and having no insurance to cover them.
JPs allowed father-of-three Tahir Zia to stay in business even though he now has 12 points on his licence – the total which usually leads to a six-month disqualification.
Nottingham magistrates heard on Wednesday that his licence only enabled him to be flagged down or work as a private hire driver in the borough of Gedling.
He was not allowed to wait outside the QMC and was caught when he charged £30 to take two people and a wheelchair back to Gedling.
The new rules aim to protect vulnerable passengers from potential abuse following the town's grooming scandal.
It comes after official inquiries revealed the prominent role of taxi drivers in the widespread exploitation of children over more than a decade.
http://goo.gl/LNUhLv
------------------------------------------
UBER SPAIN
DISCOUNT taxi service Uber may have been given the boot from Spain once, but through a legal loophole the US-based company has managed to find its way back onto the grid.
The service has proven to be a big hit worldwide, thanks to significantly cheaper rates than those offered by traditional taxi companies, but a lawsuit launched by taxi drivers put the brakes on the operation in Spain back in December 2014. Uber had to pack its bags and hit the road when a Spanish judge ruled that the use of amateur drivers was a violation of national laws and unfair competition for professionally licenced cabbies.
Now Uber is popping up in Spain again, as it can get around the ban by employing professionally licenced drivers, including chauffeurs using private cars, rather than the amateur folk that were the company’s bread and butter in its previous incarnation.
The company will no doubt present stiff competition for Cabify, a similar service which already operates in Spain. The new and improved Uber is expected to have fares that will be 30 to 40 per cent cheaper than traditional taxis. The service will begin in Madrid and is then expected to extend into other parts of the country.
http://goo.gl/rdu14m
BOURNEMOUTH
A Freedom of Information request revealed that Chelmsford City Council raked in £329,580 from the 10,732 penalty charge notices it issues to illegally parked motorists in 2014/15.
Former Moulsham High student Dan added: "Online, it seems that 98 per cent of people are sticking up for us and feel the warden was out of order.
"We're definitely going to appeal the fine. But I've got to write a letter or email to the council.
"I can't think of any reason why my driver should have been given a ticket. The taxi is a working vehicle and my driver was simply trying to earn a living."
A spokeswoman for Chelmsford City Council said: "As can be seen in the video being circulated on social media, the taxi driver was stopped on double yellow lines.
"Although his reason for doing this was to drop off his passenger, he knew that he was in contravention of the law by doing this, and the civil enforcement officer had no choice but to issue a penalty charge notice as that is the requirement of his job.
"The fine was not directed at the passenger, and it was the taxi driver's decision to stop where he did. The offensive language used on social media to refer to one of our staff is reprehensible and unacceptable, regardless of users' personal views.
http://goo.gl/HRb87F
----------------------------------------
GEDLING
A cabbie was excused a driving ban after overcharging passengers picked up outside the Queen's Medical Centre – and having no insurance to cover them.
JPs allowed father-of-three Tahir Zia to stay in business even though he now has 12 points on his licence – the total which usually leads to a six-month disqualification.
Nottingham magistrates heard on Wednesday that his licence only enabled him to be flagged down or work as a private hire driver in the borough of Gedling.
He was not allowed to wait outside the QMC and was caught when he charged £30 to take two people and a wheelchair back to Gedling.
The customers claimed it was double the expected charge and lodged a complaint.
That led to council staff identifying the taxi driver as Zia, 41, of Grassington Road, Aspley, the court heard. He was found guilty of using a hackney carriage without insurance and plying for hire in Nottingham without a licence on April 15 last year.
After an application by solicitor Chris Brewin for Zia, magistrates agreed not to impose a driving disqualification because it would cause "exceptional hardship" to the driver's family.
But presiding magistrate Phil Oxlade warned him: "What it means is you have to drive very carefully. Until November of this year, there will be 12 points on your licence.
"If you are brought back to court you will be on a totter and in all likelihood you will be disqualified." Zia was fined £375 with £200 prosecution costs and a government surcharge of £37.
Six points were added to his licence, adding to the six already on for earlier offences which included speeding and breach of traffic signals.
Francesca Whyley, for Gedling Borough Council, said the authority received a complaint about the fare charged for a journey back from the QMC.
"The meter for payment read £30.40. The passengers questioned it, saying it seemed high. It should have been £15. They paid the driver £30.
"He did not have a licence to pick up fares without prior arrangement in the City of Nottingham. He understood he could pick people up in the Gedling boundary," she added.
Zia told the court he had been a taxi driver for five years and earns £200 weekly. The family's income was increased by £369 when taking account of his wife's pay and state benefits.
http://goo.gl/6H3tTM
That led to council staff identifying the taxi driver as Zia, 41, of Grassington Road, Aspley, the court heard. He was found guilty of using a hackney carriage without insurance and plying for hire in Nottingham without a licence on April 15 last year.
After an application by solicitor Chris Brewin for Zia, magistrates agreed not to impose a driving disqualification because it would cause "exceptional hardship" to the driver's family.
But presiding magistrate Phil Oxlade warned him: "What it means is you have to drive very carefully. Until November of this year, there will be 12 points on your licence.
"If you are brought back to court you will be on a totter and in all likelihood you will be disqualified." Zia was fined £375 with £200 prosecution costs and a government surcharge of £37.
Six points were added to his licence, adding to the six already on for earlier offences which included speeding and breach of traffic signals.
Francesca Whyley, for Gedling Borough Council, said the authority received a complaint about the fare charged for a journey back from the QMC.
"The meter for payment read £30.40. The passengers questioned it, saying it seemed high. It should have been £15. They paid the driver £30.
"He did not have a licence to pick up fares without prior arrangement in the City of Nottingham. He understood he could pick people up in the Gedling boundary," she added.
Zia told the court he had been a taxi driver for five years and earns £200 weekly. The family's income was increased by £369 when taking account of his wife's pay and state benefits.
http://goo.gl/6H3tTM
--------------------------------------------
ROTHERHAM
All taxis in Rotherham will have to have security cameras fitted from July, the council has announced.
The new rules aim to protect vulnerable passengers from potential abuse following the town's grooming scandal.
It comes after official inquiries revealed the prominent role of taxi drivers in the widespread exploitation of children over more than a decade.
http://goo.gl/LNUhLv
------------------------------------------
UBER SPAIN
DISCOUNT taxi service Uber may have been given the boot from Spain once, but through a legal loophole the US-based company has managed to find its way back onto the grid.
The service has proven to be a big hit worldwide, thanks to significantly cheaper rates than those offered by traditional taxi companies, but a lawsuit launched by taxi drivers put the brakes on the operation in Spain back in December 2014. Uber had to pack its bags and hit the road when a Spanish judge ruled that the use of amateur drivers was a violation of national laws and unfair competition for professionally licenced cabbies.
Now Uber is popping up in Spain again, as it can get around the ban by employing professionally licenced drivers, including chauffeurs using private cars, rather than the amateur folk that were the company’s bread and butter in its previous incarnation.
The company will no doubt present stiff competition for Cabify, a similar service which already operates in Spain. The new and improved Uber is expected to have fares that will be 30 to 40 per cent cheaper than traditional taxis. The service will begin in Madrid and is then expected to extend into other parts of the country.
http://goo.gl/rdu14m
----------------------------------------------------------------
BOURNEMOUTH
AN unknown hero who pulled a young woman from her burning car moments before it turned into a “fireball” has been identified.
Taxi driver Noureddine Hacib was driving Broadstone couple Darrel Priestley and Jayne Weeks home from a night out during the early hours of Saturday morning when they spotted the vehicle.
The trio were travelling along the Dorset Way towards Poole when they saw the smoking car on the side of the carriageway.
Mr Hacib, 43, who lives in the Queen's Park area of Bournemouth, has been described as a "hero" after he pulled the woman from her car even as flames began to engulf the vehicle.
http://goo.gl/riXbTx
Taxi driver Noureddine Hacib was driving Broadstone couple Darrel Priestley and Jayne Weeks home from a night out during the early hours of Saturday morning when they spotted the vehicle.
The trio were travelling along the Dorset Way towards Poole when they saw the smoking car on the side of the carriageway.
Mr Hacib, 43, who lives in the Queen's Park area of Bournemouth, has been described as a "hero" after he pulled the woman from her car even as flames began to engulf the vehicle.
http://goo.gl/riXbTx
No comments:
Post a Comment