Taxi Driver Online

Who'd have thought a Liverpudlian would be wearing a tracksuit

No comments from Edders, please

Appeal after two robberies on taxi drivers in Bournemouth

https://www.dorset.police.uk/news-infor ... ticle/6584

Detectives are appealing for information after robberies on two taxi drivers in Bournemouth.

The first incident occurred just before 1am today, Sunday 9 December 2018. The victim - a local man aged in his 40s - picked up a man in Meyrick Road and drove him to St Clement’s Road near to the church. Upon arrival, the victim was threatened with a knife and was told to hand over money. The offender made off with a quantity of cash. The victim did not sustain any physical injuries.

The offender was described as white, with a beard, brown hair and tattoos. He was wearing a grey tracksuit and had a muscular build. He also spoke with a Liverpool accent.

The second incident happened at around 3.30am today. The victim - a man aged in his 50s - was approached by two men on Southcote Road shortly after dropping off another fare. The pair asked him if they could take them to Southbourne.

As they drove, the men instructed the taxi driver to turn onto Knole Road and as they were opposite St Clement's Church they told the driver to stop.

The men then threatened the taxi driver at knifepoint and demanded he hand over money.

The victim managed to escape the taxi and run off. As he turned around he saw one of the men get into the driver seat and drive off onto Drummond Road. The victim did not sustain any physical injuries.

A short time later the fire service was called to Aylesbury Road, where the taxi was located on fire and was extinguished.

One of the men is described as five feet ten inches tall and of large build. He had short brown hair and blue eyes and was wearing a jacket and jeans. He spoke with a Liverpool accent.

The second man is described as short in height and of thin build. He had dark hair and was wearing all dark clothing. He spoke with a local accent.

Detective Sergeant Mark Portelli, of Bournemouth CID, said: "We are determined to identify and bring those responsible to justice and I would like to reassure the public that a full investigation is underway.

"At this stage, we are keeping an open mind as to whether the two incidents are linked.

"I am appealing to anyone who may have witnessed anyone acting suspiciously in the area around the time of either robbery or who has any information that could assist with the investigation to please contact Dorset Police.

"The neighbourhood policing team can be contacted with any community concerns."

Anyone with information is asked to contact Dorset Police at http://www.dorset.police.uk, via email 101@dorset.pnn.police.uk or by calling 101, quoting occurrence number 55180197326. Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or via http://www.crimestoppers-uk.org.

looks like they're running out of victims in Liverpool and having to find fresh meat

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'Time for CCTV in all cabs' after two taxi drivers are robbed at knifepoint in Boscombe

https://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/ ... -boscombe/


Image: Bournemouth Echo

EVERY taxi driver should have cameras installed in their car, a campaigner has argued.

Kevin Holmes, chairman of the Bournemouth Taxi Trade Association, spoke out after two drivers were robbed at knifepoint in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Both victims were asked to stop near St Clement’s Church in Boscombe before they were threatened.

During the second incident, which happened at around 3.30am, the victim - a man in his 50s - was able to run away.

The robbers drove his taxi away and set fire to it in nearby Aylesbury Road.

Mr Holmes, who said both victims will be left with “psychological scars for life” as a result of the robberies, said: “I understand there might be CCTV from one of the taxis, so we’re all hoping for that.

“It makes the case for the council to say that every taxi should be fitted with CCTV from now on.”

Drivers are vulnerable to such attacks, he said.

“I’m sure there’ll be more to come before Christmas and the new year,” he said.

The Bournemouth Echo spoke to two drivers who asked not to be named. The first said the attack was the talk of the taxi driving community but most drivers agreed it was ‘very rare’ in the town. “Although you can be quite vulnerable in this job, Bournemouth is generally a safe place to work and that’s what makes it so surprising,” he said.

A second driver agreed, saying the town was a good place to work. “I’ve been here 35 years and never really seen or heard of anything like that,” he said.

He believed the attack occurred because the perpetrators saw taxi drivers as an easy way to get money for Christmas. However, he said he didn’t think he’d leave his vehicle or hand over his money if threatened by anyone. “I’d fight them for it,” he said.

He didn’t believe that CCTV would make ‘any difference’ in helping to reduce attacks on drivers. “Probably the only think that would really scare them is a machine gun!” he joked.

Yesterday, Dorset Police said detectives had arrested a man on suspicion of carrying out the two robberies on taxi drivers in Bournemouth on Sunday morning.

The 28-year-old was arrested on suspicion of robbery, aggravated vehicle taking and arson. Anyone with information should contact police quoting 55180197326.

Taxi robber sentenced to six and a half years behind bars

https://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/ ... hind-bars/


Image: Dorset Police/Bournemouth Echo

A MAN who held up two taxi drivers at knifepoint, threatening to kill one of them while holding a blade to his throat, has been sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison.

Kyrin Lane, aged 29, appeared at Bournemouth Crown Court for sentence last week after earlier pleading guilty to two counts of robbery and two counts of threatening someone with a weapon.

The court heard that in the early hours of December 9, 2018, Lane – a bricklayer by trade – carried out two separate robberies on two taxi drivers within hours of one another in Boscombe.

Lane, a father-of-one, attacked the first driver after jumping into his vehicle at the taxi rank in Meyrick Road shortly after 12.50am and initially posing as a fare-paying passenger.

Prosecuting, Simon Walters told the court how the victim was ordered to pull over in Knole Road, Boscombe, where Lane pulled out a large knife with a blade 10 or 12cm long and told the terrified driver to “give me all your money.”

Between £120 and £150 was taken, before the victim managed to jump out of his taxi, run away then call police.

During the second attack, which came within a few hours, a second taxi driver was approached by two men who asked for a ride.

Once again, the driver was asked to stop in Knole Road, opposite St Clement’s Church.

However, on this occasion the second man, who has never been identified by police, grabbed hold of the driver from behind and restrained him while Lane held a knife to his neck.

The victim was told by both men to “give me the money now or we will kill you.”

Mr Walters told the court how the terrified driver recalled: “I was in fear of my life.” Mr Walters added: “He tried to get away and they were screaming at him, but he opened the driver's door and flung himself out.”

Lane and the other man then drove off in the taxi, which was later abandoned and set on fire.

A mobile phone, a payment card machine and £10 in change were stolen.

In his victim impact statement, which was read to the court, the second taxi driver said that in his native Morocco some of the districts he worked as a driver in are among the most dangerous in the world, even the police would not travel into them.

But the robbery in Bournemouth was “the most scared I have ever been in my life," he said.

The driver added: “This has destroyed me, I am still scared because the police have not found the other man.

“This has been the scariest incident in my life and I don’t want it to happen to anyone else.”

The victim, a family man who supports children, also said he now suffers from anxiety and his wife cannot sleep whenever he is out working as a taxi driver.

“I just keep feeling he could have killed me,” he said. “Due to his actions my life has been changed. I’m consistently nervous and anxious.

“I didn’t deserve this.”

Lane was arrested at a flat in Walpole Road, Bournemouth, less than 24 hours after the robberies.

Mitigating, Robert Grey said his client’s behaviour had been driven by class A drugs use, which he only started using six months prior to the incident.

Judge Stephen Climie agreed that Lane had displayed significant remorse for his actions, and that he had been somewhat of a “Jekyll and Hyde” character due to drugs use.

The judge also noted Lane had been drugs free while on remand in prison, had completed a number of drugs awareness courses, and, although had other convictions, had done nothing as serious in nature as this before.

However, sentencing him to six-and-a half-years in total, which drew gasps from the public gallery, Judge Climie told Lane: “For those who carry and use knives there will be little mercy shown.”

F***ing gasps from the public gallery !!!!

WTF did they expect, a pat on the back.

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IDFIMH