Sussex wrote:
THE DANGER CABS CRUISING OUR CITY
People were today warned not to use a dozen illegal taxis which are cruising Leicester city centre touting for business. The bogus cabs, many of them ordinary saloon cars with CB aerials and old meters fitted to make them look legitimate, are not licensed or insured to carry passengers.
Police and licensing officials at Leicester City Council also have no way of checking whether the drivers have criminal records. Legitimate drivers say they have spotted at least a dozen illegal cars operating in the city.
It is understood the bogus cab drivers are running the scam for profit - but in other areas of the country, such illegal cabbies have committed crimes including rape and robbery.
There have been no recorded sex attacks in Leicester, although last week the Mercury reported how a teenager was assaulted by an apparently illegal driver in a dispute over a fare.
Legitimate cabbies have called for action before a passenger is serious attacked or sexually assaulted. Mike Ward, chairman of the Leicestershire Public and Private Hire Association, said: "We think there are about 12 pirate cars going out regularly at weekends, mostly in the early hours.
"It's about money and, generally, we don't get a lot of assaults, thankfully. "All licensed drivers have to undergo checks every three years for criminal records, but these people don't because we don't know who they are. "Therefore we have no idea if there are rapists or [edited by admin] working out there."
He said the case reported in the Mercury last week sounded typical. "The driver did not seem to know where he was going and tried to charge £13 for a fare which should have been no more than £7," said Mr Ward. "The car sounds like it was a pirate from the way it was described - plus the driver was carrying a weapon."
He urged passengers to stick to the law and only ride in traditional black cabs hailed in the street or private hire cars they have booked through a firm. All legitimate cars have plates bearing the driver's license number and the crest of the local council. Legitimate cab drivers also wear photographic identity badges.
Kuljit Singh, a cabbie and secretary of the RMT union in Leicestershire and Rutland, said that the public did not seem to be aware of the risks of getting into one of the pirate vehicles "We need a crackdown now because one day, God forbid, something will happen and it will be too late."
Daniel Riley, spokesman for the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, a national personal safety campaign, said: "London is the only area which really monitors violent crimes and sexual assaults by these drivers. It is estimated these people are responsible for 10 sexual assaults in the capital every month."
The trust, set up following the disappearance of estate agent Suzy Lamplugh in 1986 after she went to meet an unknown client, advises people to walk away if they have any doubts at all about a driver.
City police say their Safer Routes scheme, which has created designated and supervised pick-up points for black cabs and private hire cars, is helping to tackle the issue.
Sergeant Pete Williams said: "We advise people to use the scheme as it guarantees that they are getting into a bona fide car."
NO TIPS PLEASE TAKE NOTE OF THIS POST, DONT YOU JUST LOVE YOUR TRADE
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