BOLTON

A Taxidriver was left with a smashed window after a group of hooded thugs hurled bricks and stones at his car. 

Etisham Ahmed was returning from picking up passengers in Breightmet at around 8pm on Sunday evening when the vehicle was bombarded by the vandals. 

He was driving along Bury Road towards Little Lever and had just passed Long Lane when he spotted the four attackers.

 

One of the larger bricks crashed through his passenger-side window and hit the 35-year-old on the hand. 

"I had a job from Bury Road and I picked up my passengers there in the evening," Mr Ahmed told The Bolton News. 

"As I was coming back down the road there was a group of teenagers - four of them. They were throwing stones and bricks at my taxi. 

"One of the bricks went through the window and smashed it and then hit my hand.

 

"I was so upset. I was confused and scared and they threw about three or four stones at me. I didn't know what to do." Mr Ahmed, who was been driving taxis for nearly 20 years said this was the second time he has endured such an incident in the last six months.

He described the attackers as white teenagers wearing black hoodies. 

The damage meant he had to leave his passengers to get a separate cab and then take his own car to be repaired.

 

The attack has been reported to the police but Yasif Khan, secretary of Bolton Private Hire Association, says these incidents are happening more often in the town, especially in the darker months of the year. 

“There’s a definite problem, it’s a national problem but it’s happening more and more in Bolton, especially in last few months,” he said.

“I had a problem about three years ago when I was driving and somebody must have thrown a big stone ­— it was terrifying. My passengers were screaming. 

“It didn’t break anything but it could have done. All these people do is laugh and run away but they don’t realise how serious is could be.” 

Mr Khan said the Private Hire Association was working with police and Bolton Council to combat the vandalism issue.

Police are investigating the attack.
Anyone with information is asked to call 101 or CrimeStoppers on 0800 555 111.

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CANTERBURY

Up to 200 taxis could be banned from the roads in the Canterbury district in a radical bid to clean up air pollution.

The city council says it will refuse to re-license vehicles which fail to meet the latest emission standards by August next year as it attempts to push all cabbies into electric cars by 2030.

It would mean many drivers having to make costly upgrades in the next 18 months to protect their livelihoods.

Some concerned cabbies say they cannot afford to simply change their cars so quickly.

Nigel Harris, 64, who has run a traditional-style London taxi in the city for 20 years, says the proposals will force him into retirement.

“I will just have to get rid of it despite the fact that it’s been a fantastic vehicle for the job which flies through its MoT emissions test every time without a problem,” he said.

“The trouble is that a new electric version of one of these, which is made for the job and has wheelchair access, is £60,000 and not many people can afford that.”

The controversial policy comes as the city council attempts to meet its own ambitious target of being carbon-neural by 2030.

The authority says taxis, most of which are diesel, are having a significant detrimental impact on air quality because of the nature of their multiple local journeys.

Now, in a phased approach to the problem, it wants all vehicles it licenses to be hybrid by 2025 and electric by 2030.

It admits it could cause “some pain” for cabbies, who may have to get rid of their cars for taxi work sooner than expected.

But some drivers question the reliability of keeping the electric vehicles adequately charged for their use, despite the council saying it will install reserved new fast-charging points at taxi ranks as part of the policy.

“I live in a terraced house so how I am supposed to charge my car at night?” said one sceptical driver.

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 CARLISLE

Hundreds of taxi drivers are working in Carlisle with criminal convictions covering firearms offences and assaults, to burglaries and harassment.

A Freedom of Information request by The Cumberland News revealed that of the 330 licensed taxi drivers, 215 have registered previous convictions. Some of these are now spent convictions however, with many dating back decades. 

All of the convictions have been declared to Carlisle City Council, and none are for sex offences.

One unnamed driver has a record of nearly 70 criminal offences, including multiple driving convictions plus those for burglary, theft and possessing a firearm.

The council has currently issued 111 private hire licences and 259 Hackney carriage licences - with 40 drivers holding both licences. 

Of the 215 drivers with a criminal record, 974 convictions were recorded.

Wayne Casey, chairman of Carlisle Taxi Association, has moved to reassure passengers that the vast majority of the offences were committed a long time ago, with the drivers having now reformed. 

“These convictions are from when these people were 18 and silly boys,” he explained. 

“The convictions are on their records for life and it’s down to the council’s licensing department to decide if they are granted licences. 

“But they do relate to spent convictions.” 

Cumbria police echoed the association.

“The decision regarding whether to issue licences to individuals is at the discretion of the city council who conduct DBS checks and risk assessments before licences are issued,” said a spokeswoman. 

“It should be taken into account that it is likely that many of the convictions which have shown up on this information request will refer to spent convictions, potentially going back years or even decades.” 

The council insists that public safety is its number one priority, and new policies were introduced last year as part of efforts to ensure the safety of passengers.

A Carlisle City Council spokeswoman said: “The safety and welfare of the taxi-travelling public is of paramount importance to us. 


“We are committed to ensuring all operators, vehicles and drivers meet the required standards.
“In order to consider whether to issue a licence, we have adopted the Institute of Licensing Guidance. This national guidance has been produced in partnership with the Local Government Association, Lawyers in Local Government and the National Association of Licensing Enforcement Officer. 

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