17 Mar 2008
Violence could end in a cabbie's death
A TAXI driver whose vehicle was vandalised by a punter has warned that
escalating violence in Bournemouth may result in the death of a cab driver.
Anita Whant, 36, of Boscombe, had to eject the man from her cab after he
began having a furious row with his girlfriend.
Ross Trent, 20, of Wallisdown, then launched himself into the cab door
causing over £1,000 of damage and putting it out of action for around
three days, resulting in nearly £800 of lost takings from the cab, which
Anita shares with her father.
She had collected a party of six from Toko's and was taking them home, she said.
"We got half way up the road and he started shouting at his girlfriend. I
turned around and said: Shut up or get out'.
"He did shut up for a while. Then he started punching himself and punching
the doors. I stopped the car and said: Out!' "He dragged his girlfriend with
him. They were having chats and it was all very teary. They went a bit
further down the road and then I saw him shaking his girlfriend. I jumped
out and split them up with help from her friend.
"He launched himself into the cab door. We restrained him at that point."
Trent began to walk away but returned and attacked the cab again, said Anita.
"He kicked the front and side of the vehicle as I drove away."
Police were called and Trent was arrested.
Most of the female cabbies have taken self-defence classes due to the
violence directed against drivers, added Anita. She took up kickboxing
after her cab windows were smashed by drunken yobs and two female
passengers injured by flying glass.
Violence is commonplace on the night shift and has got worse since the
introduction of 24-hour drinking, she added, although ironically the longer
opening hours have also boosted drivers' takings.
She said: "The town in general is getting worse for taxi drivers late at
night. What I'm trying to get across is that this was not just a one-off
isolated incident. People go out and get drunk and decide to take it out on
the cars and the drivers. It's all getting a bit much.
She added: "It wasn't scary but it was unpleasant. There will come a time
when a taxi driver will get murdered."
Magistrates told Trent he was responsible for all the damage to Anita's
taxi, and handed down a conditional discharge of 12 months. He was
ordered to pay £1,988 in compensation and prosecutors asked for £480 in costs.
Trent's mother told the court he had suffered a brain haemorrhage in 2005
and suffered memory problems as a result.
Anita was commended for her "social responsibility" by the magistrates.
Source: Dorset Echo
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