Watford taxi driver beaten and robbed
Another Watford taxi driver has fallen victim to a vicious assault at the hands of drunken, violent passengers.
Mohammed Arfan, 32, was battered about the head and robbed by two men in the early hours of Friday morning, after driving them from a town centre nightclub to north London.
Mr Arfan, who has now been attacked twice in four months, escaped serious injury in the attack but lost more than £100 in takings.
He said: “I picked up three men outside Oceana, at about 3.30am. I took the money upfront and everything was fine. There was no argument until we got to Barnet.
“One guy got out in Barnet Lane and the two others told me to carry on driving. We got to a dead-end in Hadley Wood Road and the guy in the back jumped out, opened the door and started hitting me.
“Then the other guy joined in and started hitting me as well.
“There was no argument at all so I think they had planned to do it. I was horrified, I didn’t know if they were going to stop.”
The latest attack comes just one month after two drivers were savagely beaten in one night, and has added weight to drivers’ demands for in-car CCTV and safety screens.
Mr Arfan added: “Everybody is scared out there. People are worried about working nights because of the attacks from passengers. They are worried someone will get seriously hurt.”
Shafiq Ahmed, chairman of the Watford Hackney Carriage Drivers Association, recently delivered a petition to Watford Borough Council - which licenses taxis – requesting joint funding to make the improvements.
He said: “This latest attack shows the dangers drivers are facing every night. We are doing a dangerous job and need some protection.
“We do not expect the council to pay for everything but we cannot afford to do it all by ourselves.”
source:
http://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/news/