ESSEX

A BUNGLING thief kicked open a taxi door and snapped it off its hinges after ordering a cabbie to hand over his takings.

The man, aged in his mid twenties, refused to pay for his fare after a Hackney Carriage driver picked him up outside Pitsea train station.

As the white and orange Peugeot Expert stopped in Sandon Road- less than a mile from the station- the passenger threatened the cabbie and demanded a wad of cash from him.

A scuffle is understood to have broken out, during which the the door of the taxi was ripped off.

The passenger, who was wearing a grey tracksuit and black trainer, fled the scene.

An eyewitness, who did not want to be named, took to Facebook to warn residents about the incident.

She said: "A man tried to mug a taxi driver, there was fighting and possible injuries.

"The man even ripped the door off the cab trying to mug him.

"Luckily the cab driver seemed ok, he was just shaken up."

Independent cabbie Ralph Morgan, 72, urged taxi drivers to be on their guard about who they pick up.

He said: "You have got to be aware of who you pick up and keep an eye out for warning signs such as the smell of cannabis or booze.

"At the end of the day, we are the only form of transport where you don't pay up front so we are put at risk.

"Be on your guard all the time and if it's a long journey, then ask for the money up front first."

The incident happened at about 11.30pm on Tuesday.

A spokesman for Basildon Council, the authority which issued the taxi driver with his license, said: "Basildon Council, as the licensing authority, condemns any attack on a licensed driver or vehicle going about their normal work.

"Should any police investigation highlight issues in relation to the personal safety of local drivers, we will ensure that this information is shared with the trade."

An Essex Police spokesman said: "We are investigating threats made to a taxi driver in Sandon Road, Pitsea.

"The suspect kicked the door of the orange Peugeot Expert taxi causing it to fall off after failing to pay for his journey from Pitsea train station.

"He is described as being aged in his mid twenties, wearing black trainers and a grey tracksuit."

So far, no arrests have been made and investigations are continuing.

Anyone with information can call Essex Police on 101, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

http://goo.gl/ToSAax

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GLOUCESTERSHIRE

A taxi driver will appear in court charged with the murder of a prostitute who was missing for almost a decade.

The body of Becky Godden, 20, was found in a shallow grave at a field in Eastleach, Gloucestershire, eight years after she disappeared.


Christopher Halliwell, 52, is accused of murdering Miss Godden between January 1 2003 and April 4 2008.

He will appear before Bristol Crown Court for a plea and case management hearing.

Halliwell, a father-of-three, previously of Ashbury Avenue, Swindon, was charged by Wiltshire Police on March 30.

He appeared before North West Wiltshire Magistrates' Court in Chippenham the following day.

The last confirmed sighting of Miss Godden before her remains were found in March 2011 was by a police officer in Swindon in December 2002.

Her family thought Miss Godden, who had drifted into drugs and prostitution, was living in the Bristol area.

She had broken off contact with her family after saying she could not put her mother Karen Edwards through the pain of watching her succumb to drugs.

http://goo.gl/rWFo7m

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NEVADA


The idea of personalized air travel aboard autonomous flying taxis sounds like a pretty fanciful transport concept, but it started to get some serious traction when Ehang's 184 drone landed at CES earlier this year. Many questions remain over how the human-carrying aircraft would function in the real world, but at least some of these may soon be answered with the company winning governmental approval to test the vehicle in Nevada airspace.

The single-seater electric drone is designed to offer an aerial transport option for people traveling short-to-medium distances. The idea is that passengers hop in, enter their destination on a 12-inch touchscreen and hit the take-off button. The autonomous flight systems handle the rest, including avoiding obstacles, communicating with air traffic control systems and navigating the flight path.

This all sounds pretty exciting, but the trouble is the drone on show at CES was just a prototype and, one short clip of it hovering aside, Ehang has never demonstrated its purported capabilities. It has, however, done enough to impress biotech firm Lung Biotechnology, which has teamed up with the Chinese drone-maker to adapt the vehicle for future organ deliveries. And now the US state of Nevada is looking to get onboard as well.

Both the Governor's Office of Economic Development (GOED) and the Nevada Institute for Autonomous Systems (NIAS) have signed an agreement with Ehang to begin testing the aircraft. The program will take place at Nevada's FAA-approved test site, one of six such drone-testing locations across the US. There's no mention of whether this testing will cover the vehicle's capacity to carry humans, but the stated intention is to gain the Ehang 184 a Certificate of Airworthiness, an FAA document that gives it authority to fly.

http://www.gizmag.com/ehang-184-taxi-drone-testing/43760/

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MIDDLESBOROUGH

A TAXI driver who raped a drunkenly unconscious passenger has been locked up for ten years after being told: "You abused her dreadfully."

Naleem Nasleem, 48, picked up the student after he saw her slumped by the side of the road near Middlesbrough town centre in the early hours.

The cabbie drove her to a quiet spot not covered by closed circuit television cameras where he forced himself upon her in the back seats.

Teesside Crown Court heard that the "extremely drunk" 22-year-old victim was later driven home and staggered out of the car bare-foot.

She woke hours later and had no idea what had happened – but had a puzzling image of an Asian man leaning over her in the back of a taxi.

After bravely going to police with her suspicions, forensic tests were carried out on the college student which showed she had been raped.

Married father-of-three Nasleem claimed his passenger had made sexual advances towards him and they had consensual sex in his vehicle.

A jury of eight men and four women took three hours and 15 minutes to find him guilty of two counts of rape at the end of an eight-day trial.

Judge Simon Phillips, QC, told him: "You had no regard for her safety or her well-being whatsoever. You showed complete contempt for her."

The court heard how the student had flagged down a taxi earlier, but she passed out in the back and the driver took her to a police station.

The cabbie said in his evidence that touching a passenger was a "no-no" and wanted help from the officers to remove her from his vehicle.

She made her way back into town – appearing to have glazed eyes, stumbling and slurring her words – where she was picked up by Nasleem.

Judge Phillips told the shamed defendant: "What is clear is that she was extremely drunk. That was patently obvious to anyone who saw her.

"She was perhaps momentarily semi-conscious because the following morning the only image she had in her mind was of an Asian male.

"It was an image she could not understand. She had no recollection of being in either taxi. She may have been completely unconscious when you forced yourself upon her.

"What was clear was she was in no position to stop you . . . you abused her dreadfully and treated her with complete disregard."

The judge added: "The previous private hire vehicle driver had done the right thing by her. You did the opposite.

"This jury heard evidence about that and is in no doubt as to the abuse of trust that you have committed against this young woman."

Nasleem, of Oxford Road, Middlesbrough, will also be on the sex offenders' register for the rest of his life.

The court heard how his wife is standing by him, and in a letter to the judge she told of the "unimaginable" prospect of him being locked up.

http://goo.gl/Z098HV

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PRESTATYN

A TAXI driver who slapped a teenage girl’s bottom had now lost his job, a court heard.

And after hearing that the incident had occurred at a Prestatyn pub, District Judge Gwyn Jones said he was concerned that young children were on the premises at 10pm.

Last month Peter John Mealing, 45, pleaded guilty at Prestatyn magistrates’ court to sexually assaulting the 13-year-old girl at the Royal Victoria Hotel where his wife Diane is licensee.

Prosecutor James Neary said the girl and her young brother had gone to the pub with adults who were friends of the defendant.

Mealing, who knew the girl was 13, said to another man: “Guess how old she is...you’ll never guess.”

It was also alleged that he said the girl “had a nice a---“ and then slapped her on the bottom.

Interviewed later, the girl said: “It was really creepy.”

Mealing, of First Avenue, Prestatyn, accepted that he knew the girl’s age, and added: “It was a joke which went wrong.”

He told police he had received no sexual gratification from the incident.

Roger Thomas, defending, said that Mealing had lost his job as a result and would bear the stigma of his conviction for the rest of his life.

Describing his behaviour as “totally unacceptable”, the District Judge commented: “It is of concern that two youngsters are allowed on the premises at 10 o ‘clock. It is clear there were significant issues of a lack of supervision on the pre mises at that time.”

Mealing was ordered to carry out 175 hours of unpaid work and to pay the girl £200 in compensation. He was also ordered to pay costs of £85 and a £60 surcharge, and will be on the sex offenders’ register for five years.

http://goo.gl/tS2TWZ

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NOTTINGHAM

A taxi has crashed into the side of a city centre building just as rush hour begins.

The car was seen lodged into the the Apex office building on Lower Parliament Street, which plays host to BBC East Midlands studios, shortly before 5pm on Wednesday.

Both Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service and Nottinghamshire Police were on the scene as traffic began to build up in the approach to the BBC Roundabout that joins with London Road and Canal Street.

A spokeswoman from the fire service told the Post they had one fire engine on the scene and were "making the vehicle safe."

She added: "One male patient is being assisted by East Midlands Ambulance Service and is conscious and breathing."

http://goo.gl/20x6j7