Same old, same old, but not the most serious incident of its kind
I like the description 'court bill', though - nicely sums up the financial consequences for the perp without using the misleading 'fine', or whatever
Racist reveller smashes up taxi after cabbie won't go to A50
https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/st ... i-10192086
Now he's got to pay compensation to the cabbie
Fifty-three-year-old Andrew Dolan has been hit with an £1,152 court bill after he racially abused a taxi driver and damaged his cab. North Staffordshire Justice Centre heard Dolan and another man got into a taxi at the Last Orders pub, in Longton, at 11pm on April 18.
Dolan got in the front seat and said he wanted to be taken to the A50 as his wife was on the way to pick them up. The driver said he was unable to do that and needed a postcode and he needed the fare upfront.
Prosecutor Suzanne Swindail said: "This made the defendant become angry and aggressive. The driver asked for £25 before they left. The defendant got angry and shouted at the complainant. The defendant got out of the taxi and slammed the front passenger door with force. He continued to shout through the open window. He kicked the taxi twice with full force causing dents to the door. The estimated cost of repair was £400. He kicked the window causing it to shatter. Some of the glass came into contact with the driver. It cost £150 to fix the window. The driver was left with a small cut but there was no charge to reflect that.
"At 11.10pm the driver contacted the police asking for assistance. Police were flagged down by the complainant. He pointed the officers down Ashwood Road. Police found one man and heard a rustling noise and a man matching the description given appeared. He was arrested for criminal damage."
Dolan used racist language on the way to custody and he was arrested for the racially-aggravated offence.
Dolan, of Hamilton Avenue, Uttoxeter, pleaded guilty to charges of criminal damage and racially-aggravated harassment, alarm or distress.
Joanne Corbett, mitigating, said Dolan was heavily intoxicated.
She said: "What caused him that anxiety was his wife was stranded in traffic on the A50. She suffers from extreme anxiety. That had kicked in. He wanted to find her, to get her home and back to safety. He accepts he should not have said what he did and he should not have kicked the taxi."
Magistrates made a compensation order for £550 and ordered Dolan to pay a £369 fine, £85 costs, and a £148 surcharge.
Chairman of the bench Chris Rushton said: "This was an awful escapade. Taxi drivers do not deserve to be treated like that. In a way they are a public servant. They are doing their job."
