Taxi Driver Online

Solihull taxi driver awarded £500 after being attacked in row over 40p

July 7 2011

Two Birmingham men have been ordered to pay compensation to a Solihull taxi driver they attacked after one of them mistakenly believed he had been short-changed by just 40 pence.

Vincent Locke (22) of Hallcroft Grove, Shard End, and Gary Williams (22) of Nearmore Road, Shard End, have been ordered to pay the driver Tariq Khan £500 between them.

The pair had been convicted of assaulting Mr Khan following a trial at Warwick Crown Court.

The case had been adjourned for pre-sentence reports to be prepared on the two men.

They have now been given community sentences with two years’ supervision.

In addition they were ordered to do 150 hours unpaid work within 12 months and to each pay £1,000 costs and £250 compensation to Mr Khan.

During the trial, prosecutor Eugene Hickey said that after a night out in Solihull in February last year five friends decided to get a taxi to Chelmsley Wood.

Mr Khan, who was working as a taxi driver in the town centre that night, picked them up at 3.40am and asked for a £20 deposit, which he was given.

As his meter reached that figure during the journey he asked for a further £10 - but when they arrived the meter showed the fare was £25.40 so he gave them £5 back.

But Locke’s maths went awry and, not realising the driver had actually given them 40p more than he needed to, he insisted they were still owed a further 40p.

When Mr Khan refused, Locke threatened that it was not worth him getting his car damaged over 10p.

Two of the group had already got out and gone to the house, and when two more got out of the car, one of them picked up a rock and handed it to Locke who held it over his head.

Fearful of what was about to happen to his car, Mr Khan also got out and became involved in a struggle with Locke.

The driver was then set upon and was knocked to the floor where he was punched and kicked.

The attack stopped and all the defendants went into the house, but as he began to call the police on his mobile phone, he was attacked again.

As a result of the attacks he had cuts to his face and swelling to the left side of his face and fractures to his facial bones.

Source; http://www.birminghampost.net/news/west ... -29011004/

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