LIVERPOOL

A man and woman involved in a car crash with a taxi left the scene with two young children - then returned without them.

Emergency services were called to Townsend Avenue, at 10.15pm on Thursday, to reports of a crash between a Ford Kuga and a Peugeot private hire taxi.

Following the crash a 44-year-old man and a 32-year-old woman - who were travelling in the Ford - left the scene with two young children.

Then the couple returned on their own and were immediately arrested by police.

The man, from Norris Green, was arrested on suspicion of drug driving and driving without a licence.

 The woman from Walton was arrested on suspicion of drink driving and drug driving.

After the crash officers located the children, whose ages are not known, and they were taken to hospital as a precaution.

Meanwhile inside the taxi the four passengers and taxi driver received minor injuries.

 A spokesman for Merseyside Police said: "Both have been taken to police stations for questioning.

"The children have subsequently been located and were taken to hospital as a precaution. Safeguarding measures are ongoing.

"CCTV and witness enquiries are ongoing to establish who was driving and the full circumstances of the incident."

Pictures taken of the crash, at the junction of  Broad Lane , show both vehicles stopped on a grass bank on the pavement with significant damage.

It is not know if the crash forced the cars onto the footpath or whether they were moved there after, but a significant amount of debris could also be seen across the road.

Speaking to the  ECHO , a resident who lives close to the scene of the crash said that it is common for collisions to take place at the busy junction.

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PENDLE

 SAFETY warnings have been issued after four taxi drivers were found to be breaching the terms of their licenses by accepting fares that weren’t pre-booked.

A joint operation carried out by the Colne and West Craven neighbourhood policing team alongside Pendle council took place over the weekend, where four drivers were discovered to be accepting illegal jobs.

The practice of ‘plying for private hire’ involves private hire drivers accepting jobs from people on the street, without a previous booking.

A police spokesman said: “This is dangerous as this invalidates the insurance on the vehicle as the driver is not abiding by the conditions of their licence.

Please ensure you pre-book a taxi for the reasons above but more importantly for your own safety to ensure a record of the taxi and the driver is held with whichever taxi firm you choose to book with.”

The four drivers that were found in breach of their license conditions are now being dealt with by the council’s taxi licensing team.

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 Haverfordwest

 A pedestrian was launched into the air by the force of a collision with a taxi, a court has heard.

Timothy Davies, of St Clements Park, Freystrop, represented himself when he appeared before Haverfordwest magistrates on Monday, August 12, having previously pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention.

The court heard that Davies’ taxi was seen to hit a man who was crossing the road as he turned into Church Street, Haverfordwest, on January 19.

Sian Vaughan, prosecuting, said a witness described the man being thrown ‘high in the air’ by the force of the impact with the VW Touran’s bonnet. He landed on the road 10 yards away.

The pedestrian sustained serious injuries including a broken collar bone and a fractured pelvis.

The car was left with a dent in the bonnet and a shattered windscreen.

Davies, 24, who represented himself, said: “I’m sorry for the accident.

“I need to carry on driving, I need to keep my licence, but I have lost my taxi badge over this.”

Magistrates fined Davies £120 and banned him from driving for six months. He was ordered to pay £115 in costs and a surcharge.

The bench decided not to order compensation after hearing that a civil claim was ongoing.

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