Fagley cabbie had blade held to throat in Idle attack
A taxi driver today told how he “prayed to be spared” when a passenger slashed his neck after robbing him of his night’s takings.
Taxi driver Jammil Zed, 41, had been held at knifepoint by the thug, an Asian man in his 20s, who had leaned over from the back seat, grabbed him in a headlock and held a blade to his throat.
Mr Zed, of Fagley, said: “I was praying to God he didn’t hurt me but he struck me with a blade, about five or six inches long, in the neck from the back of the car and took my money and keys.”
The ordeal began after Mr Zed, who works for Greengates-based Power Carz, took the man and a white female to a block of flats in Fairhaven Green, Idle.
As the car stopped, the male passenger told the woman, who was sitting in the front of the car, to kill the ignition and headlights.
With the car in darkness, the man demanded Mr Zed’s money. He surrendered his night’s takings of £50, but as the man got out of the vehicle he slashed Mr Zed’s throat.
Both suspects fled, throwing the keys on top of the taxi as they went.
Mr Zed’s neck wound needed four stitches.
Mr Zed said: “When they left I got out of the car, picked the keys up and rang the police. All my friends came down to see if I was okay.
“I’m very shaken up. I can’t go to sleep and I haven’t worked since.”
Mr Zed, a married father-of-one, has worked as a taxi driver in Bradford for six years, and mans evening shifts.
The robbers, who had been picked up at the entrance to the Netto supermarket in Greengates, struck while the taxi was parked outside Ailsa House, in Fairhaven Green, Idle, at around 8.30pm on Saturday.
The suspect, who spoke good English, had short black hair, was clean-shaven and wore a black jacket and trousers, The woman, believed to be aged 17, went by the name Kirsty. She was skinny, wore jeans, had short, blonde hair and spoke with a local accent.
Detective Inspector John Mountain, of Airedale and North Bradford CID, said: “I’m confident that the attackers will live nearby to where they were dropped off and am particularly appealing for the help of residents in the Fairhaven Green area to help us find these people.
“This was a distressing incident for the taxi driver who, with colleagues, provides an essential service and with the public’s help I’m confident we can make some early arrests.”
Councillor Mohammed Shafiq (Lab, Bradford Moor), a family friend of Mr Zed, said: “I’m extremely concerned for our vulnerable taxi drivers. Mr Zed was very lucky to survive and I’m worried someone could be killed if these people are not brought to justice.”
* Anyone with any information about the attack should call Airedale and North Bradford CID on 0845 6060606.
source:
http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/n ... nt_terror/
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