Taxi driver and father-of-two left in hospital after brutal attack Taxi driver Gholam Hussein, 33, who was attacked whilst dropping a fare off at East Station Road
A PRIVATE hire driver from Peterborough has spoken of his terror after he was viciously chased and attacked while at work.
Father-of-two Gholam Hussein (33), from Millfield, Peterborough, said he feared for his life after he was repeatedly punched and kicked in the unprovoked attack by two men in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
The City Cabs employee had to undergo treatment at Peterborough City Hospital after the assault left him with a broken eye socket, four stitches over his eye and bruising to his face.
It has angered the city’s Private Hire Drivers’ Association, which feels police have failed on the pledge they made to do more to protect drivers after a high-profile attack in June.
The incident happened at around 12.15am on Wednesday, when Mr Hussein dropped a customer off at East Station Road, off London Road, and another man jumped into the back of his cab and asked to be taken to Boongate.
When he tried to explain that he could not because according to the law he could only accept pre-booked fares, the man punched him to the side of the head.
He punched him again after Mr Hussein got out of the car before chasing the terrified cabbie, who was trying to escape towards London Road, and kicking him to the ground and punching him in the face.
He said: “I was scared, very scared. I said to myself ‘run’ otherwise they are going to kill me.”
He managed to get back up onto his feet again only to be confronted by another man who blocked his way and kicked him in the chest.
The attackers fled when the police arrived. They had been called by a fellow private hire driver who had been advised to tail Mr Hussein after he picked up a rowdy fare earlier in the night.
Mr Hussein, who has driven a cab for three years, said he is uncertain about whether he will return to his job, adding: “I am very lucky to be alive. They would have killed me.”
However, he is critical of the police’s response claiming they did not give chase to the attackers and did not listen to the fellow private hire driver, who witnessed the attack, when he pointed the culprits out.
Mr Hussein added: “I’m not feeling safe because the police are not helping at all.”
A spokeswoman for Cambridgeshire police confirmed that they are investigating the incident.
She said: “We are investigating reports of an assault on East Station Road and we take all reports of such nature very seriously.”
Members of the Private Hire Drivers’ Association and the police met last night to discuss the concerns surrounding this incident.
Chairman of the association, Mohammed Shahid said he felt the incident showed that officers had broken their pledge to protect the city’s private hire and taxi drivers against abuse.
He said: “What we are saying to police is ‘you are not helping us, you are not protecting us, you are doing something for a short period of time, but then you forget about it’.
“We need permanent measures in place to safeguard drivers.”
Previous attack
IN JUNE, private hire driver Mohammad Farooq, from West Town, was set upon by up to six yobs in a late-night dispute over a fare.
He was treated in Peterborough City Hospital for facial fractures, two fractured ribs and a severely bloodshot left eye and injuries on his arms and hands.
The attack happened in the Cromwell Road and Russell street area of Peterborough.
At a public meeting later that month, police apologised to Mr Farooq after admitting they got aspects of their investigation into his case wrong.
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