Taxi Driver Online

Drunk steals taxi and tries to pick up fares

A drunken reveller ended her boozy night out by stealing a taxi in Cheshunt and screeching off on a dramatic 40-minute drive - even stopping to try to pick up passengers along the way! But little did the woman know, the cab she had made off in was equipped with a hi-tech tracking device and her every move was being watched by taxi firm boss Barry White, who alerted the police.

The drama began when a driver from Apollo Taxis, based in Brooker Road, Waltham Abbey, went to Forest Road in Cheshunt, to pick up the woman, aged in her early 20s, at 1am on Bank Holiday Monday.

Barry, a co-owner of Apollo Taxis, explained: "She got in the car in a very drunken state and told the driver she wanted to go out of the area, although when she had phoned for the taxi, she had said she only wanted to go somewhere local.

"The driver asked her if she had enough money for the fare and she told him to go and get the money off 'her boyfriend', who she said lived in Forest Road. "The driver got out to knock on the bloke's door and made the mistake of leaving the engine running. The woman immediately jumped behind the wheel and sped off. "It turned out the man wasn't her boyfriend after all and he had met her only that night."

The woman then embarked on a 40-minute drive drama out of Cheshunt, through Waltham Cross and eventually into Enfield. She ended up in Baker Street, Enfield, where she was picked up by the police. As the drama unfolded, police officers from three forces - Hertfordshire, Essex and the Met becoming - became involved.

Tipped off by his driver, who broke down in tears, Barry had been able to watch the woman's dangerous antics on his computer screen. "I couldn't believe her audacity. She was stopping to pick up passengers - presumably she wanted to get the cash," he said. "She was even outside Enfield police station for 10 minutes! What she was doing there I don't know.

"I'm just glad they got her in the end and we got the car back, although it had a dented wing mirror. "It's amazing she didn't kill herself or someone else. She was very drunk." "We are the only cab firm in the area to have this tracking guidance system, which has proved to be extremely worthwhile."

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