Taxi Driver Online

House destroyed in suspected minicab war firebomb attack



MICHAEL HOGAN and his partner were able to escape the inferno that engulfed their Inverkip home. It's the second time the pair were targeted in three weeks.



The blaze destroyed a motor home and damaged the house The blaze destroyed a motor home and damaged the house



A HOUSE was destroyed when a motorhome parked outside exploded after it was torched in a suspected minicab war attack.

Private hire driver Michael Hogan, 58, and his partner Joan Clarke had a miraculous escape when their home was gutted by the blaze in the early hours of yesterday.

It was the second time in less than three weeks the couple had been targeted, after Michael’s private hire car was vandalised outside
the detached home in Inverkip, Renfrewshire, on March 29.

A number of residents of Findhorn Road were evacuated from their homes shortly after midnight as fire crews battled to bring the fierce blaze under control.

A neighbour said: “I heard a loud explosion and looked out the window. There were flames shooting out the top of the house and smoke everywhere up and down the street. It was very frightening to see.

“The motorhome was burnt to a crisp and the house was well ablaze when I first saw it.

“The fire service were here quickly and managed to bring the flames under control but the house looks in pretty bad shape and will probably have to be ripped down.”

The fire was so intense that the entire roof collapsed, the walls were stripped back to breeze blocks and several windows were blown out.



Another neighbour said: “It’s unbelievable no one was hurt in the fire because the house has been almost totally destroyed.

“I heard a commotion outside at around 12.30am and when I looked out, there were people in the street and the flames were shooting out the roof of the house.

“It looks like the camper van caught fire first, then the flames spread to the house.”

Michael had kept his private hire car hidden from sight after last month’s incident.

But it’s believed thugs determined to get him off the road decided to target the luxury camper van that was parked in his drive instead.

Neighbours fear Michael has been targeted because he is a self-employed cabbie.

A source said: “There are some people in the area who don’t want taxis on the road unless they are stumping up a kick-back for them.

“Michael is an honest guy, just trying to make an honest living. He has been threatened in the past.

“When he had his car targeted last month, he decided to leave it elsewhere so it wasn’t outside his home. It’s ridiculous that anyone would set a motor home on fire as part of some sort of vendetta against someone who hasn’t done anything wrong in the first place, apart from trying to make a living.”

A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said: “Firefighters in full breathing apparatus entered the building, using two high-pressure main water jets to tackle the flames.

“This incident involved the close co-operation of firefighters and police officers, all of whom deserve credit for ensuring there were no casualties.”

Investigators from Police Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, who have launched a joint investigation into the cause of the fire, spent hours sifting through charred debris yesterday.

Several items were put in evidence bags and taken away for forensic examination. The burnt-out camper van was partially covered by a green tarpaulin to preserve any evidence investigators could use to try to identify the culprits.

A Police Scotland spokeswoman said: “A joint investigation is under way to establish the circumstance of the fire.”

She added: “I can confirm police received a report of criminal damage to a vehicle at an address in Findhorn Road on March 29. Inquiries into that incident are ongoing.”

The Scottish Ambulance Service said they attended the scene but no one was taken to hospital.

Last night, neither Michael nor Joan could be contacted for comment. It’s believed they have left Inverkip for the time being.

Michael, who has been married twice before, has three grown-up children from his previous relationships.

source: http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scott ... xi-1840372

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

Time to end PH.

Fact is that the CGSA was never designed for the development PH has undertaken over the years. Originally just wedding cars, funeral cars and other assorted minor hire uses they have been allowed to operate as pseudo taxis, doing the same job as taxis, with return to base removed and communication equipment permitted to be installed.

PH are now taxis in all but name, without the stricter controls.

Thing is, why should a customer wanting to go from a to b be subjected to a lower standard from a PH driver?

It's a nonsense. Which has led to criminal involvement and activity like this deplorable act up and down the country.

With a corrupt Scottish government, clearly pandering to PH interests, I won't hold my breath that common sense will prevail anytime soon.

The whole thing needs to be looked at. And lifting the cap on taxis, invariably individually owned, would help keep control out of the hands of those amassing large fleets of vehicles which they use to distort the market.

_________________
Skull, "You are a police inspector, aren't you?"
Cab Inspector Smith, "Yes."
Skull, "So, are you going to tell Mr Taylor what his rights are?"
Smith, "And ... What rights?"

What's the difference between PH and taxi in Scotland?

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

Interesting question. It would depend who you ask.

If its the customer, nothing. Except PH may appear cheaper.

I'm reminded of a quote I once heard which I believe may be attributed to Ruskin.

I paraphrase.

If you buy on price, then you would do well to add something for the risk you run.

And, if you do that, you can afford to pay for quality anyway.

_________________
Skull, "You are a police inspector, aren't you?"
Cab Inspector Smith, "Yes."
Skull, "So, are you going to tell Mr Taylor what his rights are?"
Smith, "And ... What rights?"

There is hardly anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price only are this man's lawful prey.
John Ruskin

_________________
Skull, "You are a police inspector, aren't you?"
Cab Inspector Smith, "Yes."
Skull, "So, are you going to tell Mr Taylor what his rights are?"
Smith, "And ... What rights?"

your average PH operator hasn't has his or her pants pulled down to "buy" a plate for a start. add to that a new vehicle that costs less than half that of a hack. no wonder Jasbars narky

That'll be the playing field that isn't level then.

But then, Edinburgh's biggest PH guru joined the SNP. No doubting why, eh?

And the erstwhile erse cardownie, deputy leader on the council, allegedly has some PH cars on the same circuit. Really?

And MacAskill suddenly got control of licensing when he had more than enough on his plate releasing convicted mass murderers early.

The whole gig smells of something very smelly. Imagine even thinking of handing power in an independent Scotland to this band of brigands.

_________________
Skull, "You are a police inspector, aren't you?"
Cab Inspector Smith, "Yes."
Skull, "So, are you going to tell Mr Taylor what his rights are?"
Smith, "And ... What rights?"

You can prove this, of course?

I'm know there's no end of unionist rags would love this story if it were true.

Hell, half of them would publish it even if it wasn't true

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http://wingsoverscotland.com/ http://www.newsnetscotland.com/

I suspect it's the ability, or not as in this case, for a driver to act independently.

Same down here, but the LC prefer the gangstas.

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IDFIMH

A Scottish PHC has the ability to operate independently, without a separate licence.
The main difference is contained in 23(1) of the CGSA and is the ability, or lack of it, to pick up without prebooking.

23(1) In sections 10 to 22 of this Act:-
“taxi” means a hire car which is engaged, by arrangements made in a public place between the person to be conveyed in it (or a person acting on his behalf) and its driver for a journey beginning there and then; and
“private hire car” means a hire car other than a taxi within the meaning of this subsection.
(2) In subsection (1) above, “hire car” means a motor vehicle with a driver (other than a vehicle being a public service vehicle within the meaning of section 1(1)(a) of the Public Passenger Vehicles Act 1981) which is, with a view to profit, available for hire by the public for personal conveyance.
(3) Notwithstanding that a vehicle in respect of which there is a licence for its operation as a taxi is, on any occasion, engaged as a hire car otherwise than in the manner referred to in subsection (1) above, the enactments relating to its operation as a taxi and to the driving of it as such (including any such enactments in this Act) shall nonetheless apply in relation to it; and that other manner of engagement on that occasion shall not of itself cause the operation or driving of the licensed taxi to be regarded for the purposes of this Act as the operation or driving or a private hire car within the meaning of subsection (1) above.

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http://wingsoverscotland.com/ http://www.newsnetscotland.com/

Are people in Scotland on the right bus or what??

Damn! Thought it said "Minicab Wh0re"...

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http://wingsoverscotland.com/ http://www.newsnetscotland.com/