Taxi driver took abusive Colne racist to policeA TAXI driver who was left terrified when a drunken passenger hurled racist abuse at him drove the fare straight to a police station.
And when Leon Horsfall, 30, realised what cabbie Mohammed Wasim was doing he punched him, Burnley magistrates were told.
Mr Wasim was so shaken by his ordeal that he had to take a week off work, the court heard. Prosecutor Alex Mann said the taxi driver picked up the defendant in Nelson town centre with his brother Christopher Horsfall.
Leon Horsfall was aggressive from the outset, hitting the back of the driver’s seat, while his brother tried to calm him down.
The defendant told the cabbie to ‘get back to his own country’ and repeatedly racially abused him. Mr Wasim became so concerned at his behaviour that he drove the pair to the nearest police station.
CCTV footage at the station shows the driver looking shaken and Horsfall continuing to cause trouble.
Trevor Grice, defending, said his client had a history of alcohol and heroin problems.
The injury to the driver was only minor.
Horsfall, of Cheever Street, Colne, admitted racially aggravated assault and racially aggravated public disorder.
He was given an eight-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months and 12 months probation supervision and £200 compensation.
Tony Winder, chairman of the bench, said magistrates were concerned that Horsfall had attacked a public servant while drunk.
source:
http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/ne ... to_police/
Login
Register
FAQ
