A MAN has appeared in court charged with causing death by careless driving after a father-of-three was struck by a taxi on New Year’s Eve.
Keith Young, 60, of Walker Drive, in Bishop Auckland, made no plea during a short hearing before magistrates on Thursday morning over the death of Leslie Hebdon.
My Hebdon was on Front Street, in Tudhoe, near Spennymoor, when he was hit by a white Nissan Qashqai at around 11.30pm on December 31, 2016.
Newton Aycliffe Magistrates’ Court heard that taxi driver Mr Young had dropped off a fare at the Gala Theatre in Durham and was travelling up the bank towards Spennymoor on its way back to the taxi office in Bishop Auckland.
Mr Hebdon’s family sat in the gallery during the five-minute hearing at Newton Aycliffe Magistrates’ Court and Mr Young was also supported by family.
John Turner, representing Mr Young, told the court there had been a delay in paperwork arriving ahead of his client’s first court appearance and would therefore not be indicating a plea.
Mr Turner said: “It was indicated that it would be impossible to deal with the papers if they arrived late and they arrived yesterday.
“That’s the bulk of technical information of around 100 pages and I only received the video evidence at 9am this morning.
“Going through the papers at this stage is impossible to do it in any way.”
Dave Lee, prosecuting, addressed magistrates and asked that they decline jurisdiction to move the case to crown court.
Mr Young spoke only to confirm his name, age, and address.
District Judge Helen Cousins granted Mr Young unconditional bail and confirmed he would make his next court appearance at Durham Crown Court on January 9.
Durham Police closed the B6288 Front Street while the incident was cleared and confirmed it had reopened at around 6am.
Mr Hebdon’s family paid tribute to their relative who was described as “a beloved son, dad and brother”.
They added: “He is gone, but will never be forgotten.”
http://bit.ly/2AEHBmo
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A Chelmsford taxi driver has had his licence revoked after following and “grabbing” a lone drunk woman, before urinating in public.
The man, who can only be identified as Mr M, was spotted on CCTV driving along Moulsham Street and pulling up next to a woman.
He maintains that he was concerned for her welfare as he deemed the area to be dangerous at that time of night.
In a Chelmsford City Council regulatory committee meeting, Mr M said the CCTV did not reflect the course of events and his actions were of “good intention”.
His counsel stressed that he was counting his takings at the end of the night down the street when he noticed several people sitting in a white car parked in front of his vehicle.
He feared that he could be at risk of being robbed and decided to drive away.
It was then that he noticed a lone woman and decided to stop to ask her “if she was okay and to offer her a lift”.
CCTV then showed him reverse and pull away, driving in the direction of the woman.
He was also spotted urinating in an alleyway, which he has apologised for.
The committee was unable to accept Mr M’s account and considered the footage to be “predatory and menacing” as well as “unwanted” by her.
Minutes from the hearing say: “Mr M followed her in his vehicle, then parked on the road well ahead of her. He then got out of his vehicle and then, albeit for a brief period, blocked her access by the combination of the use of his own body and the open driver’s door to his vehicle.
“It was evident to this committee that the woman’s body language indicated that she did not want his attentions.
“His behaviour was alarming and the committee was in no doubt that, given the time of night and the lack of other people in the vicinity, most lone women in this situation would have found his actions terrifying.
“Mr M then persisted in following the woman up the road and appeared to physically grab her at one point. He then returned to the location of his vehicle and urinated.
“The committee concluded that it was no longer satisfied that Mr M was a fit and proper person to continue to hold a licence.”
His licence has been immediately revoked.
http://www.essexlive.news/news/chelmsford-taxi-driver-who-grabbed-892922
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A student was allegedly sexually assaulted after she got into a taxi after a night out at Rock City in Nottingham.
The woman - who cannot be identified due to the nature of the allegation - estimated she had drunk one-third of a bottle of vodka that evening.
Nottingham Crown Court heard at the trial of taxi driver Quasim Shakoor - who denies the sexual assault - there was also some evidence to suggest the woman had taken the drug, ketamine.
Timothy Achurch, prosecuting, told the jury, sworn in at the trial on Thursday morning (December 7), she left the club without her bag, mobile phone and her friends.
Outside she got into a taxi, driven by Shakoor, 24, of Nottingham Road, Nuthall, but the journey took them past the end of her road and she felt something was not right.
"She tried to get her phone to call her friends and realised she did not have her purse, phone or bag with her," said the prosecutor.
The woman realised she had nothing with her and told the driver she had nothing.
She tried to get out of the car but the doors were locked. Shakoor allegedly said he wanted a kiss first.
But said she would not kiss him.
Then she changed her mind, so she would be let out of the car.
"She says she kissed him on the mouth for about a minute," explained Mr Achurch.
"She asked to get out again - but he said 'no' - and he wanted to touch her first."
He allegedly went on to put his hand down her skirt and touch her.
The woman managed to get out of the car and ran towards two students in the street.
The 21-year-old said "the taxi driver has just raped me" and "please help me".
Police began investigating in the early hours.
They got the registration number of the car the woman got into from CCTV, and found the defendant in his car in the Nuthall area at 5.10am.
After his arrest, he was interviewed hours later, and admitted the woman got into his taxi outside Rock City, and it was not a pre-booked fare.
He said the woman complained about her knee hurting and she grabbed his hand and put it on her knee when they pulled over.
Then she grabbed his hand again and slid it inside her skirt.
He described her controlling his hand and that he did not actively do anything himself.
As soon as she did that, he told her to get out and swore.
The trial continues.
http://bit.ly/2j4CVA2
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The cost of catching a taxi in Norwich looks set to increase for the first time in four years.
Proposals to increase hackney carriage fares - the taxis which can be flagged down or caught in a taxi rank - has been lodged with Norwich City Council.
The proposal, for the first increase since 2014, would not see the existing four tariff structures (day, evenings, Sundays and nights and Christmas and New Year) changed.
But prices would be pushed up because of a reduction in the distance travelled before charges are made.
For example, at the moment,
the day rate (between 6am and 6pm) is charged at £3 for the first 40 yards, then 20p for the next 205 yards.
While the initial £3 for 40 yards would not change, the proposal is for 20p for the next 194 yards - 11 yards less than at present.
Under that tariff, a journey of three miles which currently costs £8.20 would go up to £8.60 (not including any waiting time) - an increase of 4.88pc.
The Norwich Station Taxi Association, which lodged the request for increases on behalf of all the city’s hackney carriages, said in their submission they were seeking a “modest” increase.
They highlighted how there had been no request for an increase since 2013 and said: “We propose simple adjustments to the present approved yardages to achieve an increase in the region of 3.6pc for all tariffs,
“No increase is sought for waiting times, which reduces the overall value of the increase package.”
A spokeswoman for Norwich City Council said:
“We have received an application from the Norwich Station Taxi Association requesting an increase to the current hackney carriage fares.
“The proposed increase is subject to consideration of any objections received before Sunday,
December 17 and will not come into effect before Monday, January 1.”
All hackney carriages licensed by the city council are wheelchair accessible. The council said they provide an alternative to other forms of public transport which may not be readily available or accessible.
The increases would apply only to licensed hackney carriages. Private hire vehicles - which must be pre-booked - are not subject to council control.
Prices for them should be agreed when they are booked.
What are the proposals?
Tariff 1 (Day rate 6am to 6pm)
Present: £3 for first 40 yards, then 20p per 205 yards.
Proposed: £3 for first 40 yards, then 20p per 194 yards.
Tariff 2 (Evening 6pm to 11pm)
Present: £3.20 for first 40 yards, then 20p per 191 yards
Proposed: £3.20 for first 40 yards, then 20p per 181 yards
Tariff 3 (Sunday rate and night rate 11pm to 6am)
Present: £3.40 for first 90 yards, then 20p per 178 yards
Proposed: £3.40 for first 70 yards, then 30p per 169 yards
Tariff 4 (Christmas and New Year)
Present and proposed: £5.40 for first 90 yards, then 20 per 147 yards.
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Around 80 taxis brought Loughborough town centre to a near standstill today with a go-slow procession.
The cabbies honked their horns as they snaked their way through the town centre at around five miles per hour as part of a protest this morning.
They were demonstrating their concern at a process known as ‘cross border sub contraction’ where firms with drivers licensed outside Charnwood send them into the borough to pick up fares.
The Loughborough cabbies say they are losing trade to outside firms because of the practice, with drivers coming in from as far away as Blaby and Wolverhampton.
They also say they have safety concerns about cross border work because different councils have different licensing regimes and safety criteria.
They want the Government to change the law to put an end to the practice.
Taxi drivers’ spokesman Pasquale Corbinzolu said: “We suffer a lot from this because Loughborough is a honey pot because of the student trade.
“There are enough taxis locally to meet the demand but drivers from miles and miles away are still coming in.
“We are not protesting about the borough council.
“We carried out the protest to raise awareness of the issue.”
The demonstrating cabbies had notified the police and the council about the procession beforehand.
They started on the A6 near Hathern at 11am and then slowly processed through the town centre, passing the council offices in Southfield Road, before dispersing after around an hour and a half.
What did the council say?
Chairman of the Licensing Sub-Committee at Charnwood Borough Council Councillor Ken Pacey, said: “We’re aware of the taxi demonstration in response to the issue of cross-border hiring and we’re sympathetic to local hackney carriage drivers about this issue.
“Cross-border hiring has come about as a result of recent changes to national legislation as a result of the Deregulation Act, 2015.
“Before the 2015 Act came into force, if private hire Operators couldn’t fulfil a taxi booking, they could give that booking to another private hire operator licensed by the same authority. Since the Deregulation Act 2015, private hire operators can give the booking to another private hire operator licensed by a different authority.
“This may impact on the business for local drivers. It is also an issue for licensing authorities, such as ourselves, because we are seeing an increasing tendency for private hire vehicle to operate outside the area in which they are licensed.
“Charnwood Borough Council does not any power to inspect a vehicle that is not licensed by us, which means that if we receive a complaint about a private hire vehicle operating in Charnwood that is licensed by another authority, all we can do is send the complaint to the correct authority to deal with.
“Currently local authorities have no power to change this legislation. However, we are aware that the Local Government Association have also raised this as an issue and has called on central government to review this.
“We will have to await further developments to see what happens next.”
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