FARNWORTH

A FAMILY was been left shaken after youths hurled a rock through the window of a taxi they were travelling in.

The group of two adults and four children were on their way to a fundraising night at St Gregory’s Social Club, in Church Street, Farnworth, on Friday night when a rock smashed through the back passenger window – narrowly missing a four-year-old’s head.

Luckily the family escaped uninjured, however were left shaken by the incident, which happened in Bolton Road, at the junction with Pilkington Road, Kearsley, at around 7.10pm.

The rock, which was described as the size of a fist, shattered the window of the S&D Taxi’s Mercedes Vito.

The mother, from Clifton, who was in the taxi with her husband and her children aged between 14 and four, said witnesses saw a group of six teenagers in hoodies standing nearby when the incident happened.

She said: “Shards of glass covered all of us and it took a few seconds to register what had actually happened.

“It was centimetres away from hitting my son’s head and he’s been really scared since, he keeps asking if they’re going to come back and smash our windows so it’s really affected him.

“People think it’s just a bit of fun but it could have ended differently if it hit my son or even if any glass got in our eyes.”

There was no one at S&D Taxi able to comment on the incident.

Anyone with information should contact police on 101.

https://goo.gl/UjFGIU

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SHEFFIELD

A police investigation has been launched after a 25-year-old woman was reportedly raped after getting in a taxi leaving Sheffield city centre in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The incident is believed to have occurred at about 4.50am in the Duke Street area of Sheffield.

Temporary Detective Inspector Graham Stead, said: “We believe the woman got into a taxi from the city centre, close to West Street, and was taken to the Duke Street area, where the offence is said to have occurred in the car.

“An investigation is now underway and we have a dedicated team of officers working on this.

"This is being treated as an absolute priority and we are already pursuing a number of strong lines of enquiry.

"A thorough review of CCTV footage of the area, including the route we believe the taxi took, is also now underway.

“The woman is being supported by specialist officers and I’d urge anyone who has any information about what happened to contact us.

“If you can help, or have any concerns, please call 101 quoting incident number 235 of October 23, 2016.”


https://goo.gl/i2rDYq

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Council bosses in South Tyneside are to call on the Government to close a loophole which allows people who are banned from driving taxis to drive minibuses instead.

The council’s licensing committee say they were “disturbed” by the difference in regulations between the licensing of taxi drivers and drivers of nine-to-16 seater vehicles known as Public Carriage Vehicles (PCVs).

Licensing manager Jeff Young said taxi drivers are licensed by the council and need to undergo a criminal record check every three years.

But PCV drivers are licensed by the DVLA for whom the “standard of checks are significantly lower” with no criminal record checks.

Mr Young said the difference meant drivers deemed “not fit and proper” to drive taxis could be driving the minibuses instead.

He said one example from South Tyneside involved a man who, after twice being refused a taxi licence, drove his car through a barrier to confront the council officers who opposed him.

He is now driving a 16-seat mini bus for a local taxi company, Mr Young said.

The officer said the man is one of two cases which are causing the council concern but there could be others the authority does not know about.

Coun Anne Hetherington said: “We should raise the profile significantly of this. The safety of our residents is paramount.”

Mr Young said the Department of Transport believes criminal record checks are not required for minibus drivers as they carry a number of passengers at a time so the “risk is reduced to an acceptable level”.

But Coun Doreen Purvis said minibuses used by taxi companies were used to pick up single passengers when other vehicles weren’t available.

The committee agreed to write to the secretary of state for transport to raise their concerns “in the strongest possible terms”, write to local taxi operators and ask the full council to consider a motion on the matter.

https://goo.gl/NeV9CX
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DERBY

Any changes made to Derby's taxi licensing system will be quickly reversed if the Tories are voted into power, a leading Conservative councillor says.

Oakwood councillor Mick Barker responded to claims by Labour's Baggy Shanker that the licensing process must be changed to protect vulnerable people, including children, following the revelations of child abuse in taxis in Rotherham.

Mr Barker argued the council had tightened its procedures since the problems in Rotherham were brought to light in the Casey report last year.

Derby City Council is seeking public views on its taxi licensing regulations following the publication of a public interest report that exposed failings leading to licences in Derby being awarded to criminals who were not "fit and proper" to obtain a badge.


The authority says it aims to take licensing power away from councillors and put it in the hands of council officers, who would operate a points-based system when handing out licences.

https://goo.gl/yhJLVy