Taxi driver's disgust after machete gang terrorA TAXI driver who was hit on the head with a machete as he was robbed by a gang says he is "disgusted" after seeing only one of the group sent to prison.
The driver, who asked not to be named, spoke out after Gareth Beeson, 23, was handed seven years for his part in the attack on June 5.
Beeson was one of five people who got into the driver's minibus after he was called to Nine Acre Gardens in Bulwell.
The driver, a dad-of-one, was grabbed from behind and a machete was held to his throat.
He tried to wrestle free but as he did one of the group stole cash from his jacket pocket as another searched the glove compartment.
The driver managed to get out of the minibus only to be confronted by other members of the group.
He was forced to hand over a bag of cash and was then hit on the side of the head with a machete before the group ran off. The driver was left with a six-inch cut to his head and needed 12 stitches.
Beeson, of Bethnal Walk, Bulwell, admitted robbery at Nottingham Crown Court on Wednesday . He was sentenced to seven years in prison.
Beeson was one of five people who were arrested in connection with the robbery.
Two were released without charge and two others, a man and a woman, were charged with robbery alongside Beeson but no evidence was offered in court and the case against them was dropped.
After the hearing the driver said: "They'll halve [Beeson's] sentence and he'll be out in three-and-a-half years. I feel disgusted. Only one person is serving time. I'm feeling completely low. I don't want to even leave the house."
He said he now could not see himself properly returning to his old job.
He added: "I've tried getting back into it a few times but as soon as someone sat behind me I can't do it. I just get jumpy."
A spokesman for the Crown Prosecution Service said a guilty plea was offered by Beeson, who played the most "significant role" in the attack. Her added that the prosecution had to consider the evidence against the remaining two alone after the plea.
The spokesman said: "The evidence against these defendants was not as strong. It was therefore considered that the most appropriate course was to accept the guilty plea from Beeson and discontinue proceedings against the two remaining defendants. This decision was made in consultation with the victim, the police officer in the case and the trial judge, who all agreed to this course of action."
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