Taxi driver hits out at police after 90 minute wait following robbery on Valley Road, Shipleyhttp://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/n ... g_robbery/A TAXI driver who was threatened with a knife before being robbed has hit out at police after it took them an hour-and-a-half to reach him following the terrifying incident.
Allah Ditta, 59, a taxi driver at Advanced Cars, Fagley Road, was working a shift in the early hours of Monday morning when his ordeal unfolded.
He was called to a property on Kingsdale Crescent, Bolton, Bradford, to pick up four young men and drop them at Valley Road, Shipley.
Mr Ditta said: “When they got in, there were no problems. They looked like very decent guys.”
When they reached their destination - a block of flats - the group asked to be dropped in the car park.
But as the group paid the fare and Mr Ditta handed the change over, the group turned on him.
They got out of the car, opened the driver’s door and took the key from the ignition.
Mr Ditta says he was then punched in the face and threatened with a knife - although no knife was seen.
He was forced to hand over £150 and the culprits also took the taxi’s PDA system before running off into a nearby field.
The father-of-one contacted his base, who reported the incident to the police, and his boss then came to the scene to assist.
He managed to find the PDA system, which had been discarded in the field, and advised Mr Ditta to park his car on the main road with the hazard lights on.
But Mr Ditta says he was left for 90 minutes until police showed up.
During that time he says he tried to flag down a number of passing police cars to help.
He has now been left questioning why it took so long for police to reach him, as he said he was only a short walk or drive away from Shipley Police Station on Manor Lane.
Mr Ditta said: “Afterwards, I feel scared they could come and attack me again.”
And speaking about the way police handled the situation, he said: “If they had come quicker, they might have been able to get the culprits.”
He added that it had been a “successful” attack and he felt it had probably been pre-planned.
Police are now appealing for witnesses following the robbery and say they will review their response to the call.
The four male suspects are all described as white and in their late teens.
Detective Superintendent Jon Morgan, said: “This is an extremely serious matter which is being investigated by specialist officers and I would appeal to anyone who saw this incident or these four males at the time of the incident to come forward.
“We also acknowledge the issues raised and we will review our initial response.”
Any witnesses to the robbery are asked to contact police on 101 and quote crime reference number 13180256733.
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