A taxi driver who was beaten up and robbed by his passenger has praised the judge who jailed his attacker for more than three years. Ian Derbyshire was brutally attacked and robbed by Ben Davies, despite kind hearted Ian taking him further than he could afford.
Davies, 25, repeatedly kicked the cabbie while an accomplice held him and threatened to stab him, Teeside Crown Court heard. The two drinkers were Mr Derbyshire’s last fare of the night just after midnight on February 18. Davies got out, seemingly to relieve himself, but then walked to the driver’s door with his hood up while his associate in the back seat grabbed the cabbie from behind.
Mr Derbyshire was gripped around the throat and held against the seat until he struggled for breath and thought he would pass out. The hackney cab driver was kicked 12 times in the ribs by the men, who also threatened to stab him if he did not hand over his bum-bag with the night’s takings of £73.
“Taxi drivers have to be protected. We all rely upon them. They need to be protected from people who think they are an easy target.”
Ian, who is a dad-of-four, needed X-rays and was left with swelling and aching around his right eye, back, shoulders and right side.
Jalied for Three Years
Davies, who was identified from CCTV, initially denied involvement, claiming he had been home alone. He later admitted the robbery.
Judge Howard Crowson told Davies: “Taxi drivers have to be protected. We all rely upon them.
“They need to be protected from people who think that they are an easy target.
“You may now regret it very much but on that night, you and your friend clearly didn’t think that way.”
He jailed Davies for three years and eight months.
Positive Outcome
Ian is pleased with the verdict and hopes it will help stop future attacks. He said: “I’m very pleased with the outcome as I think it will be a good deterrent for others and should also go towards stopping violence on other taxi drivers.
“It took me a good while before I felt comfortable in a taxi again, if I saw a group of lads waiting to get in I would be very worried but it’s getting easier.
“I was also worried he would just get a slap on the wrist and if that happened, there was always the possibility he would do it to someone else.
“So, I’m happy with the length of time – it’s a decent sentence.”