Assaulted Barrow taxi driver calls for CCTV cameras in cabsTAXI drivers need more protection from violent customers, cabbies have claimed.
Mark Kyte, who works for A1 taxis in Barrow since the summer, picked up a fare in the town late on Saturday night.
During the journey to Millom, the customer was sick inside the cab and Mr Kyte told him he would need to pay to cover cleaning costs.
When they arrived the customer refused to pay the extra and Mr Kyte ended up being assaulted.
He reported the incident to police, and handed over a DVD of CCTV footage from inside his cab, but was disappointed when the man was only given a caution.
“The police said that as he had no convictions in the past 10 years, they would only give him a caution,” the 38-year-old cabbie said.
“I wasn’t badly hurt but it made me very angry that he’d only been given a warning.”
Mr Kyte’s boss, A1 co-owner Paul Brereton, said the police should be coming down hard on those who assault taxi drivers.
“Taxi drivers are vulnerable because they’re on their own most of the time,” Mr Brereton said.
Mr Brereton, whose firm has 80 drivers on its books, also believes all taxis should be fitted with CCTV, a sentiment backed by Barrow community sergeant John McIntosh.
Sgt McIntosh said: “If CCTV is fitted, and customers are made aware it is fitted, then it acts as a deterrent. It also allows us in identifying offenders.”
Bob Mullen, a Barrow taxi driver of 15 years, warned that some cabbies may consider taking their protection into their own hands.
“Some drivers are talking about arming themselves – it’s mainly hot air but the very fact they’re talking about it just shows how serious the issue is,” he said.
Police said they arrested and cautioned a 40-year-old man from Millom after the incident. A spokeswoman for Cumbria police said: “This was an appropriate and proportionate outcome for the circumstances of the offence and individual involved.”
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