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Cabbie blasts police over yobs
A Bath taxi driver has criticised police for failing to come to his aid when he had three abusive yobs in the back of his cab – parked right outside the Manvers Street station. Grandfather Simon Gay said he was later told that what he should have done was "honk his horn" until someone came out.
Police have apologised over the incident, which took place in the early hours on Sunday morning, but say other calls had to take priority at that time. And Mr Gay's complaint comes as the police and the city's council are praised for their efforts to make Bath a safer place to visit at night.
Mr Gay had been driving up Broad Street at around 4am, with a passenger already in the back of his car when he was flagged down by three men who were soaking wet and who climbed into his vehicle and refused to get out. After realising there was nothing he could do to get them out, Mr Gay drove to the Manvers Street station, locked the car doors and phoned the non-emergency police number.
The 53-year-old, who has been a taxi driver for four years, said: "The only thing I could think of doing was to take them to the police station because I assumed it was covered with CCTV and then when they eventually did get out it would all be recorded."
While Mr Gay was on the phone, the men managed to lean through the ventilation gap in the partition and open the back doors. They got out and taunted Mr Gay through his window before getting back into the cab and he once again locked the doors. This time the men became aggressive, splashing water around and threatening to cause damage to the car.
Eventually Mr Gay managed to calm them down while hoping that officers walking across the station forecourt might also help out. But when he realised that there was no prospect of immediate police help, he agreed to let them out.
However, as he unlocked the back doors, he also unlocked his own door and the men pulled out all of his personal belongings and threw them across the street. One of the men grabbed the harness used to assist wheelchair-bound passengers and ran off with it, forcing Mr Gay to leave his car unattended and give chase.
When he got back to the taxi the altercation became heated and Mr Gay phoned 999 because he was concerned about his own safety. But while he was answering a list of questions from the operator, the men wandered off and Mr Gay was left to pick up the pieces of his night.
Mr Gay, who lives in Radstock, said: "I am disgusted and I am really not sure what to do if this type of situation occurred again. "While all this was happening there were police cars passing by and driving in and out of the station, but nobody stopped to help.
"It wasn't until two fares later, when I was driving down London Road, that I got a phone call from the police asking me if the matter had been resolved. "They are now saying to me that I should have pulled up onto the forecourt of the station, which is covered by CCTV, and honked my horn to alert someone." He said he was also concerned that he had been asked for his name and address in direct earshot of the yobs.
Chief Superintendent Gary Davies said he was sorry that no officers had been available to deal with the incident and said that Bath police were committed to tackling anti-social behaviour. He said: "I can understand this gentleman's frustration, and it is very regrettable that there were no officers able to respond to his call as quickly as he would have liked.
"It was a very busy night and all our resources were deployed dealing with a number of incidents. "Anti-social behaviour of any kind is something which causes us concern; taxi drivers have a right to conduct their lawful trade in safety, and I want to take action against anyone who poses a risk to that safety.
"We have been working, and continue to work, proactively and very hard with relevant partner agencies and organisations, including licensees, taxi firms and local authorities, to try to tackle anti-social behaviour."
An investigation has now been launched to track down the people in the back of the taxi and Chef Supt Davies has appealed for anyone with information to come forward.
The chairman of the biggest taxi company in Bath, Abbey boss John Innerd said he had always found the police to be very efficient in dealing with any problems his drivers had and said officers did an "outstanding" job.
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