BRISTOL

POLICE are appealing for information from any taxi driver who picked up two men from the Almondsbury area at around 5am on Sunday, March 1, and possibly took them to a military camp or into Bristol city centre. 

They are keen to talk to the two men about an allegation of sexual assault by a 19-year-old woman in a room at the Almondsbury Interchange Hotel earlier that morning. 

http://www.gazetteseries.co.uk/news/11858076.Police_appeal_for_information_following_sexual_assault_in_Almondsbury/?ref=rss
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DUBLIN

Police have found two men hidden in the boot of a taxi after they stopped and searched two cars in Dublin.

The pair were among four men who were arrested at the scene on Harold Road, Stoneybatter, on Monday morning.

Officers also recovered a large knife and balaclavas as they searched the vehicles at about 10:30 local time.

The operation, targeting organised crime, involved the newly amalgamated Garda (police) National Drug Unit and Organised Crime Unit, a spokesman said.

Three of the men who have been detained are in their 30s and the other is in his 40s.

They are being questioned at Mountjoy and Store Street garda stations in Dublin.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-31909134
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STONE, Staffs

CABBIES say private hire taxis picking up illegally on their patch are 'crippling' trade.

Three taxi firms in Stone claim minicabs are coming into the town from Stoke-on-Trent every weekend to ply for trade.

The law states private hire drivers can only pick up passengers who have pre-booked and it is illegal for them to collect customers in the street or from a taxi rank.

Several Stoke-on-Trent drivers have been prosecuted in recent months following a joint operation by police and Stafford Borough Council.
David Clift, aged 51, owner of Secure Cabs, said: "There are 12 to 14 Stoke-on-Trent taxis outside Granvilles, where the taxi rank is.

"We don't get any bookings after midnight because they are illegally picking people up. Between midnight and 2am used to be our most lucrative time. We are losing money hand over fist.

"Over the past six months there has been a clampdown on it but the most that's happened has been a fine.

"Stoke-on-Trent City Council does not seem to be taking it any further. They should have their licences taken off them for at least 12 months."

Guy Herbert, aged 33, who is the manager of K Cabs, said: "On a Saturday I could have five or six cars fully booked until midnight, then it just stops.

"We get ten or 15 cars coming in from Stoke-on-Trent. They even try to poach customers that have already booked with us, telling them that we've sent them.

"The only way to deal with them is to take their cars off them or have the drivers lose their licence., or have a much bigger fine for the operators."

Cab drivers who appeared in court following the recent crackdown in Stone include:

Abid Mohammed Ali, aged 27, of Spring Road, Normacot, was fined £200 after plying for trade in his ABC Supreme cab in Station Road;

Majid Akram, aged 34, of Lightwood Road, Stoke, agreed to take two plain clothed police officers to a local pub when they approached his Lucky Seven private hire vehicle in Granville Square. He was fined £100;

Another Lucky Seven driver, 30-year-old Ramzan Nawaz, of Lakeside Close, Etruria, was fined £135 after bring caught in Station Road.

Taxi drivers can only pick up passengers from different areas when they have been pre-booked.

But Mike Macklin, owner of Stone Valley Cabs, said the prosecutions had little effect.

"We've had several drivers who have been caught, prosecuted and fined who have been back in Stone the next night, just laughing about it and earning the fine money back," he said.

"The penalties that are available need to be enforced. They are crippling our business."

A borough council spokesman said: "We have been working closely with the local police since our 'Safer Nights' operation began last year, and have successfully prosecuted four rogue minicab drivers so far. The operation aims to clamp down on private hire vehicles illegally plying for trade in Stafford Borough and the risk this brings to our residents."

Stoke-on-Trent City Council didn't reply to The Sentinel's request for a comment.


 http://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/8203-City-taxi-firms-blasted-fare-poaching/story-26183481-detail/story.html#ixzz3UcZhCLvs 
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WALES

The Welsh Ambulance Service spent £269,653.13 in the first 11 months of 2014, compared with £181,331.10 in 2013.

It said the rise was because of a new scheme which saw patients transported in taxis when it was safe to do so.

But the Welsh Conservatives said the money could be better spent.

In December 2014 the number of ambulances hitting the target response time for the most urgent calls fell to its lowest level for three years.

Only 51% of urgent emergency responses in November arrived within eight minutes - 14 percentage points lower than the target of 65%.

"Hiring taxis to take some patients to hospital in recent months has been necessary to ensure our busy crews are more readily available to attend more pressing calls," said Gordon Roberts, acting director of operations at the ambulance service.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-31911856
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