Taxi targets
BURTON’S screw-spreading menace has taken a sinister turn after taxi drivers in the town were deliberately targeted.
Taxi rank screws
The latest attack came when a handful of two-inch silver screws was scattered across the taxi rank outside Burton Railway Station.
The criminal struck during the cover of night and drivers were shocked to discover the Tarmac outside the station littered with screws.
Cabbie Khalid Javid collected the steel menaces in a bag yesterday morning so no cars entering the station car park had tyres punctured.
“We have had a lot of cars get screws stuck in their tyres because screws are lying in the streets all over Burton,” said Shaukat Mehmood, another driver.
“They’re everywhere and no-one knows who is doing it. It is a big problem for drivers.” The screw scattering at the station is the first incident yet which appears to be a deliberate attack on taxi drivers.
The incident comes just weeks after Staffordshire County Council’s highways team revealed officers had collected 1,500 screws discarded in streets across Burton during a five-hour clean-up operation.
The screw plague has left scores of motorists with massive repair bills after the objects became embedded in tyres.
Saj Hussain, manager of Speedy’s Wheels and Tyres, based in Hawkins Lane, Burton, said the number of people needing tyre changes had ‘more than doubled’ in recent weeks.
He said: “There are lots more people coming in because there are screws and nails stuck in their tyres.
“Two weeks ago was the busiest week for a long time. The number of people needing tyres was more than double the usual amount.”
Mr Hussain said many taxi drivers had visited his store in need of new tyres after suffering screw punctures.
The screws have been found across Burton and as far spread as Branston, Stretton, Winshill, Stapenhill and Outwoods.
Police have no suspects and no leads.
Anyone with information about the origin of the screws is asked to call Staffordshire Police on 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.
Screws which need clearing up from roads can be reported by calling 0300 111 8000.
http://www.burtonmail.co.uk/News/Taxi-t ... 122011.htm
