An argument about a fare to the Alton Towers theme park was no thrill ride for veteran taxi driver Nirpal Singh (50).
Mr Singh’s altercation with another cabbie landed him under arrest and resulted in nearly 30 fellow drivers protesting outside the police station where he was being held.
Mr Singh was taken into custody following an incident at the city’s railway station around 12.30 pm last Saturday. Six people who’d got off a train asked to go to Alton Towers.
Mr Singh claims another cabbie then drove in front of his taxi, blocking him in and offering the passengers a cheaper fare.
Mr Singh told a local newspaper: “They got in his car. I stood in front of his taxi. I went round to his cab, opened the door and pulled his key out of the ignition.”
When police were called Mr Singh was arrested on suspicion of common assault and theft of the car key.
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The vice-chairman of Stoke-on-Trent Hackney Carriage Association, Imran Jamil-Ahmed (34), saw the events and went to Mr Singh’s defence.
He commented: “We drove to Hanley police station to ask the police why they had arrested Mr Singh.”
Mr Singh was given an £80 fixed penalty notice, but remains unrepentant, saying: “They shouldn’t have arrested me in the first place.