Middlesboro

Drivers warned they could lose their licences if they breach the Equality Act 

DISABLED passengers in Middlesbrough have been charged up to twice the normal fare for taxis by some drivers, it emerged last night.

Members of Middlesbrough Council’s licensing committee heard how some drivers in the town are discriminating against wheelchair users by charging them more money than able-bodied passengers.

Some are being charged up to twice that of non-disabled passengers as a “direct consequence of their disability”, a report to the committee claimed.

Now licensing officers at Middlesbrough Council are clamping down after receiving complaints from customers.

The council has the authority to set fares in relation to Hackney Carriages but it has no control on the prices charged by private hire vehicles, which are decided by market forces.

However, private companies have to act within the Equality Act of 2010, which bans discrimination, and the council is now warning that if evidence is found then they would review private hire licences.

The council has now written to taxi and private hire businesses warning them to comply with the act. It said it would be testing “compliance” over the next few months and warned licences could be at risk if evidence of discrimination was found.

Hackney drivers and private hire operators have been warned in the letters that over-charging was a breach of the Equality Act.
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Hull

POLICE have confirmed they have found a taxi driver they were seeking in connection with the murder of Steven Herbert.

 Detectives believe the driver may have picked up three suspects near Strand Close, off Beverley Road, at around 6am on New Year's Day.

Dad-of-two Mr Herbert, 34, was beaten to death at the junction of Trafalgar Street and Beverley Road. Police issued CCTV images of the taxi this week and urged the driver to come forward.

A spokeswoman for Humberside Police said: "Appeals have assisted in tracing the driver in question who it is believed may have vital information in connection with the investigation.


"Police would like to repeat their thanks to the public and the media who have responded in large numbers to appeals for information.
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Liverpool

A gun-wielding taxi robber was found hiding in a police station ceiling vent after giving cops the slip.

Steven Graham, 22, climbed into the roof space of Copy Lane station after being arrested for holding up a cab driver at gunpoint.

But his botched escape attempt last just 20 minutes following an emergency manhunt.

Prolific criminal Graham, of Ford Lane, Litherland, was today jailed for 12 years after admitting gun, robbery and attempted escape charges.

Liverpool Crown Court heard how he brandished a loaded revolver at taxi driver Steven Jones, demanding the petrified cabbie hand over his box of takings.

The court heard that as Mr Jones fled his private hire taxi in panic, Graham shuffled into the front seat and drove off with the car.

A top judge today branded Graham, an associate of known north Liverpool gang members, “a real danger to the community.”

Judge Stephen Everett told him: “The fact of the matter is that you must have terrified [Mr Jones].

“What must have been going through his mind? He did the right thing and got out and ran off.

“He blamed himself for not doing anything else but what could he have done?

“It has changed his approach to his job, which is the job by which he earns money to pay his way in life.

“It has made him nervous about passengers he picks up and he doesn't pick up lone males any more.”

The court heard that the unassuming cabbie was called out to Vincent Road, Litherland, on September 15, where gang thug Graham asked to go to Croxteth.

But two miles into the trip, the driver was asked to turn into Clayfield Close, a  quiet cul-de-sac in Bootle, where the robbery took place.

Officers later found the taxi dumped on Dymoke Road in Norris Green, recovering the loaded gun and arresting Graham on nearby Sceptre Road.

He tried to make his escape after being taken in for questioning at Copy Lane station.

Handing Graham an extended 12-year sentence, of which four years will be served on licence, Judge Everett said: “Gun crime is a blight on society and those who carry guns or use them, or take them to others who are undoubtedly going to use them, must expect long sentences so they are deterred from doing so and others think twice.”

The court heard how Graham’s criminal record was “peppered” with offences from the age of 11, including robberies, assaults, affray, possession of cannabis, threatening witnesses and ASBO breaches.

He was jailed for 32 months in 2008 for the knifepoint robbery of taxi driver in similar circumstances.

Judge Everett said: “The sad fact is that in your relatively short life you have given nothing of benefit to the community, you have been more than just a nuisance, you have been at times a real danger to the community.”

Graham admitted robbery, possession of a firearm, possession of a firearm with intent and attempted escape from lawful custody charges.

He was said by his barrister to want to change his behaviour upon his eventual release.


Urging the judge not to impose a life imprisonment term, Frank Dillon, defending, said: "As he is so young a sentence that throws away the key need not be thrown away at this stage. He is not somebody who is so entrenched in offending that the public need him locked up forever."
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Shropshire

Woman struck by hit-and-run taxi driver 

A woman was hit by a taxi which then drove off in Shifnal.

She was walking from the back of the Spar in the town across the front car park when the collision happened. The silver vehicle had stopped outside the shop with its back doors open, possibly dropping off a passenger.

A West Mercia Police spokesman said: ""As she got level with the vehicle, it drove forward and the collision occurred, causing her to fall onto the bonnet.

"She was not seriously hurt and an ambulance was not required. The car failed to stop."


Pc Brett Tyson, the investigating officer, said the incident happened on Cheapside at around 6.20pm on Saturday.