Recall that this was the driver who said he was quitting the trade a couple of weeks ago. Would have put this on same thread, but lots of photos on there, and it got sidetracked by the (dayshift) granny who was telling everyone how fantastic the job is
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=34086&p=388960Anyway, there's a video of this incident on the website, but in truth it's just four minutes or so of the two girls moving around in the back of the cab, and little in the way of obvious vandalism. The most obvious attempt to damage the vehicle maybe happens just before the end of the video, and also not long after the start. No doubt they were trying to damage the vehicle, but video might have been edited to show this a bit more explicitly. No voice recording either.
Driver speaks out on women who smashed up his taxi in violent racist ragehttps://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/news/hu ... ho-2697714Ako Swara was called a 'P***' by Lucy Shann and Abbie White during a heated encounter last month
Image: Hull Daily Mail/Jerome EllerbyA taxi driver has spoken of his horror after being subjected to racist taunts by two women who accused him of kidnapping them before smashing up his car.
Lucy Shann, 29, and Abbie White, 18, hurled disgusting abuse at Ako Swara in the early hours of the morning on February 17.
The hackney carriage driver had picked up the two women from Hull city centre at around 4am before taking them to their intended destination.
However, upon arrival, Shann and White did not have the correct fare which led to Mr Swara locking the doors and driving them to Osborne Street Police Station.
The 33-year-old, who revealed earlier this month that he is quitting the trade for good following years of abuse from passengers, said: “On the way I saw them on the camera. They were speaking and it looked like they were trying to do something.
“We went on and the fare was £6.70 and they told me they were just going to go to the house and bring the money out but that never happens. I thought they were going to disappear and not come back.
“I said, ‘no, you should have the money before you get in the taxi. I will not open the door until you leave your phone with me and your friend can sit in the car with me’.
“I said they could take a picture of my licence and my plate number. They said they didn’t have a phone but everyone has a phone these days.
“I said ‘OK, I will take you back to the place where I picked you up from to make sure you don’t get it for free.’”
Image: Hull Daily MailAfter Mr Swara locked the doors and began driving off, Shann and White began to get violent and aggressive.
Footage captured by the camera in the back of his cab shows the pair stomping on the floor and ferociously kicking out at the doors.
They believed he was trying to kidnap them and Shann called Mr Swara a “P***” during the violent rage.
“They were racist, aggressive and they damaged my car,” Mr Swara said. “They kicked my car and started shouting ‘you are kidnapping us’.
“They damaged the side door and the security glass between me and them and it has cost me £300 to get it repaired.
“They were laughing and thinking they were funny and when I got to the police station I showed the video to officers. They arrested both of them and I went to the station to give a statement.”
Shann, of Buckingham Street, east Hull and White, of Burlington Road, also east Hull, admitted racially aggravated criminal damage at Hull Magistrates Court on March 28.
Mr Swara said the encounter proved to be the final straw in his ultimate decision to leave the taxi trade after almost a decade.
He admitted earlier this month that he no longer feels safe working as a cabbie in Hull and said he had had enough of being abused by his customers.
“That was the final straw and it made me not want to do it any more after eight or nine years of being in the trade,” Mr Swara said.
“It is happening to all us drivers and we don’t feel safe. When somebody doesn’t pay, you just think ‘why am I doing this job?’
“In the past six or seven months I’ve had my car damaged and it keeps costing me money to get it repaired. I get the police involved every time but it just doesn’t seem worth it.
“People don’t appreciate what you do for them. They abuse you and annoy you and it’s really bad. I hate going to work every day but I’ve got no choice because I’m self-employed.
“The majority of customers are good but sometimes people cause a fuss. Sometimes you ask for cash up front and you explain to them why you are having to do that but they won’t give it to you.
“Most of the time it is drunk people but sometimes people just get in the taxi with no money.
“People need to make sure that when they come out they have enough money for the taxi home. Taxis are very important, especially for drunk people, and we keep them safe but people don’t appreciate that.
“I will always wait for a person to get inside and people need to respect us. They need to be aware that we may ask for cash up front. It’s nothing against people – we just want to make sure we get paid.”
Abbie White (left) and Lucy Shann (right) emerge from Hull Magistrates Court after admitting racially aggravated criminal damage (Image: Hull Daily Mail)Shann and White will be sentenced next month at Hull Magistrates Court on April 26.
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This was the article published slightly earlier on the Hull Daily Mail's website, which simply reports the court case rather than giving the driver's side of the story.
A couple of obvious contradictions though. The driver said above that the girls had said they'd go inside to get the fare, whereas the court report below simply says the refused to pay the fare.
Also, the driver above said that they claimed they didn't have mobile phones, while the report below said they used mobile phones to call the police
Don't know if it's at all relevant to the case, but as regards the kidnapping allegation that would certainly be a thing if they genuinely did intend simply going inside to get the cash, in which case any dispute would be more civil than criminal.
But nothing to suggest the authorities took the kidnapping allegation seriously
Shocking moment Hull women attack taxi in racist rage after refusing to pay farehttps://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/news/hu ... ck-2697606They called Ako Swara a 'p**i' and accused him of kidnapping themShocking footage has emerged of two women lashing out in a taxi before hurling racist abuse at the driver by calling him a “p***”.
Lucy Shann, 29, and Abbie White, 18, caused hundreds of pounds worth of damage to Ako Swara’s cab in the early hours of the morning on February 17.
The hackney carriage driver had picked up the pair from Hull city centre at around 4am. However, after dropping them off at their intended destination, the two women “refused to pay the fare”, according to prosecutor Laura Wickens.
Speaking at Hull Magistrates Court, she said: “They refused to pay so the taxi driver locked the doors and as a result, the two became abusive.
“They called him a p*** and accused him of kidnapping them before getting their phones out to call the police. The taxi took them to the police station where they were arrested.”
Mr Swara, who has a camera installed in the back of his taxi for safety purposes, captured this footage of the women kicking against the door and the floor of the cab.
Footage shows White and Shann sitting in the back of the taxi calmly before Shann begins stamping on the floor of the cab.
She then gestures towards the window of the taxi and bangs on it before seemingly shouting into Mr Swara’s camera.
White then again kicks out at the door of the taxi before Shann follows suit. Further footage shows White continuing to remonstrate with the driver before once again forcibly booting the door of the taxi.
The pair were dropped off at Osborne Street Police Station before being arrested by officers. In an interview, they admitted causing damage but both said they feared the taxi driver was kidnapping them.
Shann admitted to using racist language but White said she could not remember what she said to Mr Swara. They both pleaded guilty to racially aggravated criminal damage in what were their first criminal convictions.
Instead of sentencing the pair at Hull Magistrates Court on Thursday, March 28, it was decided they would be dealt with in a month’s time at the same court.
Shann, of Buckingham Street, east Hull, and White, of Burlington Road, east Hull, were granted unconditional bail and will appear before Hull Magistrates Court again on April 26 to be sentenced.
They were told to expect community orders as punishment by the magistrate.
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