Taxi Driver Online

Birmingham Evening Mail

September 19, 2006, Tuesday

HEADLINE: Prison for fare thief;

CASTLE BROMWICH: Cabbie's terror ride

BYLINE: Paul Beard

A MAN who robbed a private hire driver of his takings after threatening to lock him in the boot was jailed for two years.

Adam Bayley, 23, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty at Warwick Crown Court to robbing the driver after getting into his car in Chelmsley Wood.

Mark Holdom, 22, of Cutshill Close, Castle Bromwich, admitted using threatening words and behaviour.

He was given a community order with 12 months supervision and a condition of attending an alcohol programme, and was also ordered to pay pounds 200 compensation to taxi driver Ajaz Ahmed and pounds 355 costs.

Kathryn Roughton, prosecuting, said that on July 29 private hire driver Mr Ahmed dropped a fare off in Auckland Drive in the early hours. Four men, including Bayley and Holdom, then approached and asked to be taken to Lea Village.

He explained to them that he could not pick them up without them pre-booking with his control room - but they got in anyway, with Holdom in the front and the others in the back. Bayley threatened him: "Take us. If you don't we'll put you in the boot of your own car."

The driver was scared by the threat, which was repeated by Holdom, and decided to take them where they wanted to go, but received similar threats from both men during the journey. Bayley ordered him to stop, got out and went to the driver's door and grabbed the keys from the ignition.

Mr Ahmed was slapped across the face by Bayley, and he had to hand over the pounds 105 takings. The two offenders then walked away, with Bayley using the car's remote control key to lock his victim inside.

Judge James Pyke told Bayley: "The offence was aggravated by the fact that you were one of a group, and the offence was committed at night against a vulnerable victim.

"If we did not have taxi drivers who were prepared to work in the early hours of the morning a large number of people would be inconvenienced and exposed to risk."
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