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Woman attacked for 80p taxi fare
A terrified mum today told how she was attacked by a taxi driver who drove her home after a night out. Amanda Dingwall, 23, got into a cab alone at the Green Terrace taxi rank in Sunderland city centre in the early hours after she had been out with pals. But as she went to get out of the taxi at the junction of Park Parade and St George's Terrace in Roker, she realised she was 80p short.
She told the taxi driver she would pop inside the house to get the rest of the money, but as the mum-of-one went to get out of the car, the taxi driver locked the doors. "I told him to give me two minutes while I run into the house and get the rest of the money," Amanda said. "He locked the doors and told me I was going nowhere.
"I started screaming my head off and I think that frightened him. I don't know how I did it, but I managed to get out of the taxi." "He jumped out and chased me before he jumped on me and had me on the floor. He was hitting me while I was down there. "There was no-one about and I kept thinking 'what's he going to do?'."
The taxi driver then grabbed her mobile phone, her handbag, containing her purse with her bank cards, and her house and car keys and fled the scene. Amanda, who was made redundant from Littlewoods earlier this year, suffered bruising to her arms and legs.
She said: "You just don't expect that from a taxi driver. You trust them when you get into that car and I will never, ever, ever get into a taxi on my own again. "You think you're safe and if I hadn't fought back in the taxi in the way I did, I wonder where I'd be now."
Police have launched an investigation into the incident – which happened at about 3am on Sunday – which they believe was carried out by a genuine taxi driver.
The taxi driver is described as white and in his late 40s to early 50s. He is 5ft 10 tall, of medium build, and has grey or white unkempt hair. At the time of the assault, he was wearing dark blue trousers and a light blue top. The taxi was a white estate car, similar to a Ford Focus.
Neighbourhood beat manager for the area, Pc Simon Burnicle, said: "I'd urge anyone who may have been in the area at the time and who may have seen anything or who recognises the description of a taxi driver to contact the police."
Anyone with information on the attack should phone police on 03456 043 043 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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