Thugs dragged Preston cabbie from his taxi and stole carA TAXI driver has told of the terrifying moment he was dragged from his car by thieves.
Ian Knight, 38, was part way through a night shift with Weyline Taxis when he was asked to take two men to an address near Bournemouth.
But when they arrived at the destination, Mr Knight, of Preston, Weymouth, was pulled from the car and thrown on the ground before the two men drove off at speed.
Mr Knight said he was ‘shocked’ by the incident, which left him injured and stranded in an unfamiliar area in the early hours of yesterday morning.
He said: “I managed to shake myself down, and luckily my phone was in my pocket, not in the car, so I called the police and they came out.”
The taxi, which had been fitted with a tracking device, was later recovered by police.
Mr Knight was taken to a local police station to give a statement to officers.
He said: “I didn’t get in until 7am and my partner was worried sick.
“We’ve got a three-week-old baby so it was quite hard on her.”
Mr Knight, who has been a taxi driver since February, said: “Nothing like this has ever happened to me before.
“Hopefully it will be the last time.”
He added: “I was more shaken and shocked than anything else, but I grazed my elbow when I was pulled to the ground.”
A spokesman for Dorset Police said: “This incident happened between 1.30am and 1.50am on Tuesday, November 26 at Woolslope Road, Ferndown. It is alleged that there was an assault and a vehicle was taken.”
The manager of Weyline Taxis Mandy Fry said: “It’s really shocking and it just goes to show what we have to deal with in this job. You just wonder what’s going to happen next.”
She added: “We know our regulars really well, but from time to time our drivers have to go out of the borough into areas that are less familiar.”
She added: “It is not a nice thing to have happened.”
In a new policy, the passengers were asked to partially pay up front for the journey.
It comes after a rise in the number of people making off without payment, or what is commonly known as ‘bilking’.
Two Weymouth men aged 19 and 21 are being questioned by police in connection with the incident.
source:
http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/108362 ... ?ref=var_0
Login
Register
FAQ
