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Fife pair in court for attack on driver and fare non-payment http://www.taxi-driver.co.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=41955	Page 1 of 1

Author:	StuartW [ Wed Nov 05, 2025 9:39 am ]
Post subject:	Fife pair in court for attack on driver and fare non-payment
Quite a lot going on here, but in the grand scheme of things it's maybe not the worst incident of this kind, particularly compared to the other reported attack in Courier country (which happened this week - obviously this is historical). Fife man attacked taxi driver and stole delivery car in crime spree https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/co ... ivery-car/ Stephen Gray appeared in court with Shannon Harrower, who tried to use one of his victim's bank cards to buy cigarettes and food. https://wpcluster.dctdigital.com/wp-con ... 40x564.jpg Facebook/The Courier A man attacked a cabbie and stole a delivery driver’s car in two robberies a month apart in Fife. Stephen Gray put the taxi driver in a headlock and demanded his money before punching him “four or five” times to the head outside an address in Kirkcaldy. He was partially masked when he hauled his second victim from her car outside a Chinese takeaway in Lochgelly. Hours after the second robbery, the stolen car was captured on CCTV at a Rosyth petrol station and Kirkcaldy McDonald’s where its passenger, Shannon Harrower, tried to use the victim’s bank card to buy cigarettes and food. Gray, 35, and Harrower, 29, appeared at Dunfermline Sheriff Court to plead guilty to a total of five charges. Gray, who was brought to the dock from custody, admitted two assault and robberies while Harrower, of Lochgelly, admitted two attempted frauds and a third offence of failing to pay a taxi fare. Taxi attack Prosecutor Paul Jamieson told the court about the latest incident of violence against Fife taxi drivers to come before the courts. Gray got into a taxi in Kirkcaldy’s Park View to go to Lochgelly at around 5am on December 14 2023. The driver asked for £25 up front, in line with company policy if going out of town, and Gray said he could get cash if he went to an address in nearby Glamis Road. Gray got no answer at a door there and asked to charge his phone in the taxi to access payment. But he sat behind the driver and said: “Give me your money, give me your money.” He grabbed the driver around his neck with his forearm before “punching him on the face four or five times,” the fiscal said. Gray took the keys from ignition, a mobile phone device used by the taxi firm to monitor driver location, a set of keys from his victim’s pocket, and a bag of £8 in 20p coins. The 54-year-old taxi driver was left with a bloodied face and swelling and bruising on his cheek and eye. X-rays were done but there were no bone injuries. The man’s medical notes state he was “in a choke hold and struggled for breath.” Delivery driver robbery Around 9pm on January 16 last year, a female driver was helping with deliveries at China Chef in Lumphinnans Road, Lochgelly, sitting in a Vauxhall car outside the takeaway. Gray, wearing a scarf over his face, suddenly opened the door and told her to “get out” of the car as it belonged to his sister. The woman, then aged 59, told him she had owned it for a year but he pulled her out and drove away while shouting, “fk off”. About £500 in cash, a phone, keys, cigarettes and bank cards were still inside the car. Cigarettes and food At around 1am, the delivery driver was notified on her phone of attempts to use her bank card at a Shell filling station in Admiralty Road, Rosyth. CCTV showed the stolen car in the garage forecourt and Harrower jumping out and attempting to buy cigarettes with the card at the night window. The card was declined but another was used to complete the transaction. Two hours later, a further notification told the victim her card had been declined at McDonald’s at Fife Central Retail Park, Kirkcaldy. CCTV showed the same stolen car in the drive-thru, with Harrower in the passenger side receiving a bag of food and drink before being driven off. Court papers say Harrower used the woman’s debit card in an attempt to buy £28.80 worth of cigarettes and £29.74 of food and drink by fraud. The delivery driver was working in Lochgelly about ten days later and saw her car in McGregor Avenue and police were contacted to forensically uplift it. Taxi fare** Harrower’s refusal to pay a £26.75 taxi fare happened on February 1 last year, in Glenrothes, when she said she would fetch money from a block of flats on Fordell Road after a journey but did not return. Officers later attended an address in the street for an unrelated matter and found Harrower hiding under a bed and “quantity of bedding”. Sheriff Susan Duff deferred sentencing until December 2 to obtain background reports and asked to see any victim impact statements at the next hearing. Gray remains remanded in custody and Harrower’s bail was continued.

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