Sep 12 2008 by Brenda Hickman, Evening Chronicle
BOGUS cabbie Andrew Beal is behind bars after trying to trap a teenage girl he planned to attack.
As the Chronicle revealed, the sinister dangerman cruised city streets posing as a taxi driver looking for a victim.
A 19-year-old fancy-dress reveller fell for the ruse and got into his car soon after midnight on Newcastle’s Mosley Street.
Beal, already convicted of a terrifying rape a decade ago, planned to attack and molest her on the sheet-covered back seat.
But a genuine cab driver alerted by his passengers blocked Beal’s VW Passat within moments of the abduction.
The 39-year-old was given an indefinite jail sentence for public protection at Newcastle Crown Court under laws to deal with the dangerous offenders.
Hero taxi driver Stephen Sholder, praised by the judge for his vigilance, said: “Five and a half years before Beal’s considered for parole is not nearly enough.
“But young women will be safer while he’s off the streets. I would always advise women on their own to get into a licensed cab at a recognised rank.”
The 49-year-old dad-of-two said he reacted quickly because, as a father, he wouldn’t want his daughter to suffer a similar fate.
Mr Sholder, a taxi driver for 28 years who is based at Newcastle Central Station, said he was delighted the dangerman had been convicted.
Had it not been for his action in blocking Beal’s car and alerting a police officer, who had also seen the girl, Beal could have carried out his pattern of brutal rape.
Judge Michael Cartlidge said: “The victim was just the target the defendant had been waiting for.
“He had been cruising the streets for about two hours not to find a friend to have a drink with but, in a sinister way, he was a sexual predator.”
Judge Cartlidge said Beal would have gone on to launch a “serious” sexual assault on the teenager – a student returning from a birthday party.
And he added: “She was extraordinary fortunate.
“It was the vigilance of members of the public and the taxi driver that led to her being removed from the back of the defendant’s car within a short time of her entering it.”
After Beal, from Breamish, Ellington, Northumberland, was told he must serve at least five and a half years before he can even be considered for parole, Judge Cartlidge warned: “The public should know this: the defendant will have to prove that he is safe to be released before he ever is.”
Beal, whose partner was in the public gallery to support him, was convicted after a trial last month of kidnap and taking the teenager with intent to commit a sexual offence.
Police painstakingly worked through CCTV footage to capture Beal as he prowled the city on February 23.
He already has a series of sex offences on his disturbing record, the court heard.
They include indecent assaults in 1986 and 1987, using the telecommunication system to send obscene material and the rape in 1997, when he attacked an 18-year-old stranger near the city’s Central Library.
Beal beat her and raped her and was given a 10-year jail sentence.
He was released on licence in 2003.
Det Sgt Neil Whitehead, who headed the case, said: “The sentence reflects the dangerous nature of his offences and it should reassure the public now that he is off the streets.”
{ 30 comments… read them below or add one }
Five and a half years is not enough for this evil Predator!, but if we don’t all get our act together, more like him could be trawling the Streets.
It’s not about enforcement this, it’s about genuine Drivers having a generic view on the state of the Trade, if Stephen Sholder (Newcastle Hack) had been like his mates too busy watching what BLT, all the Central’s and Lansdowne are up to, god only knows what may of happened to this young Girl.
Don’t you all think that people like Andrew Beal and all the Boy racers that take young female revellers home on a Saturday night are a little more important and serious than the PH gang???
Secondly Drivers should do their own enforcement on others relating to ID, too many Cars now have their Plates attached to their Headrests inside, it only takes a frosty night or a steamed up back Window and you can’t be Identified, also so many Cars don’t have their respective Door Crests/Numbers/Authority on their Doors either!, if you think your Car is too good for this display, try another occupation or a cheaper older Car!, our mates from Berwick, at least 50% of them never have top Signs on, and they should as Berwick don’t issue Windscreen Stickers or Door Crests, so it’s easy for a perv just to go to the streets with a unmarked Mondeo or something, he would easily blend in with poorly ID Cars, their is a blue V reg Passat going around at the minute it never has a Top sign on it, it never has a Company mag sticker on it and sometimes it’s Plate is lying on the parcel shelf, Aerial rarely seen, he may not Care, but it gives a Predator more chance to attack someone, this Car at a look is a domestic blue Passat!, a NT Hack once checked it’s Plate when it flimped over the Christmas, so it’s licensed but you would’nt think so!!
So these Plate/Company logo/Top Sign dodgers need to be pulled and told of the risks to the Public!, and to their own earnings!!
Drivers could do this…peacefully of course!
Regards
Stephen
The views expressed in this site do not necessarily reflect the views of TooManyTaxis or the general U.K. Hackney Carriage Trade
@Stephen (FKA Central Enth.), Well said Stephen, I totally agree with all you have said.
These unlicenced boy racers are a much bigger risk to public safety than any out of town flimper and something needs to be done about them ASAP.
The views expressed in this site do not necessarily reflect the views of TooManyTaxis or the general U.K. Hackney Carriage Trade
@Stephen (FKA Central Enth.),
stephen two weeks after this happened, the lads from kebab shop in the market told me that a giuy was parking up outside picking up fares every weekend! (i belive maroon Corsa (i’m colour blind) M reg).
now this guy at the time also had a blanket on the back parcel shelf, he now has half a computer chair on his backseat, and puts it in the boot when he picks up!
bearing in mind 2 weeks after the case above first hit the papers, i reported this guy to the police, only to be told not our problem, ‘even if he rapes somone?’ still not our problem see enforcement! ha! what enforcement! the only regret i have is not taking that officers number!
i’ve since told the police about him countless times when he was parked on highbridge, he’s even come by with people on the back seat when i’ve been telling them! a very tall officer knew exactly who he was (so he’s known to the police) and often goes to shift him.
the guy disapeared for a while (in jail perhaps) but he’s back, corsa and computer chair in tow, he now parks on grey street, just down from legends, normally around the cashpoint (he’s not daft eh?) other hot spots were highbridge and the bigmarket, but he probaly struggels ther now with the boy racers and flimpers all competing!
i’ve now stopped bothering to watse my breath, the police HAVE been told, the enforcemnt HAVE been told (when they checked my badge on the rank, i got a we’ll look out for him) i don’t bother to waste my breath, you see i’m a taxi driver and ensure my family and friends get home safe, not for free of cousre, but others should worry that there daughter MIGHT one day have to much to drink and end up in this blokes car…
The views expressed in this site do not necessarily reflect the views of TooManyTaxis or the general U.K. Hackney Carriage Trade
@ stephen
Five and a half years is a joke for Andrew Beal and I agree there are more important issues on a saturday night but I don’t think its the PH GANG as you’ve put it.
Step out of your car and look at it from a punters view. Lets say they come to newcastle for the weekend. During their stay they see Red plates, white plates, green plates and cars with no plates but have company names on them. They see white top signs with Taxi on them they see yellow top signs with taxi on them. They see top signs with company names. They see cars with no top signs picking up. They see red door crests, white door crests and cars with no door crests. They see Skoka’s, mondoes, vectras and even astras for fuck sake. So at 2 a.m fuel with drink and with sore feet what do they see. They see a passat parked at the side of the road with a man at the wheel with his sat nav illuminating the cab. Is he a Taxi god only knows but hes prepared to take them and he looks like alot of the other cars working in the area. Thats what they see and thats the problem. The variaty of taxis in newcastle city centre is making it easy for peditors and rouge taxis to opperate.
On the other hand If they were to come to newcastle and see newcastle hackneys with white top signs and red door crests sitting on newcastle taxi ranks and newcastle PH drivers picking up pre booked jobs with company logo clearly stated on their vehicles then surley that would make it harder for the rouges and preditors to opperate and make it easy for us newcastle drivers to spot them.
Newcastle PH offices working in newcastle with out of town plates.
North tyneside PH offices working in Newcastle with out of town plates. Newcastle Hackneys working newcastle and North tyneside offices. Newcastle Hackneys working and sitting off rank.
North tyneside hackneys snaking their way through the city. And then theres are frend in the passat.
ARE U CONFUSED YET????? COZ THE PUNTERS ARE!!!!!
The views expressed in this site do not necessarily reflect the views of TooManyTaxis or the general U.K. Hackney Carriage Trade
@MB 27, PERSONALLY I THINK ALL PRIVATE CARS AND NON NEWCASTLE LICENCED VEHICLES SHOULD BE STOPPED FROM ENTERING THE CITY CENTRE ESPECIALLY WITH THE FUTURE CLOSURE OF NEWGATE STREET ,THEY ALREADY HAVE A SCHEME OPERATING IN THE CITY OF LONDON !
THIS WOULD RID US OF BANDITS , UNLICENSED CARS AND BOY RACERS ALL IN ONE GO !
OH IF ONLY ……………………
The views expressed in this site do not necessarily reflect the views of TooManyTaxis or the general U.K. Hackney Carriage Trade
@Am133,
personally i think your idea of stopping out of town plates entering toe city is BOLLOCKS!!!!!!!!!!
THER ARE PLENTY OF US WHO PLAY BY THE RULES AND I DO A LOT OF PRE BOOKED work in and out of town and i am not prepared to give up my work so you can create a monopoly for yourself,stop private cars and boy racers by all means,then get your enforcement teams out to do their jobs and rid the town of the thieving flimpers.
what happens if you get rid of out of town plates and the shit hits the fan? a punter gets ripped off cherry picking or a woman gets raped or attacked and you havent got the out of towners to blame or pin it on,then youve got to admit that there is some shit that is out there driving newcastle plated cars,theres good and bad in every walk of life,your blaming the wrong people,its the councils you should be venting your anger at.
The views expressed in this site do not necessarily reflect the views of TooManyTaxis or the general U.K. Hackney Carriage Trade
@jimmy d,
IF YOU PLAY BY THE RULES WHY THE FU*K ARE YOU LICENCED OUT OF TOWN BUT WANTING TO WORK NEWCASTLE ?????
F**K OFF TO WHERE YOUR CARS LICENCED AND WORK THERE , WHY DO YOU THINK NEWCASTLE CITY COUNCIL HAD THE LOCALITY TEST ? TO SLOW DOWN THE INFLUX OF DRIVERS THATS WHY SO THAT THERES NOT 400 NEWBIES IN ONE GO IT WAS THE UNOFFICIAL WAY TO REGULATE THE AMOUNT OF PRIVATE HIRE VEHICLES ! ITS NOT ABOUT CREATING A MONOPOLY FOR ANYONE ,ITS ABOUT PASSENGER SAFETY AND KEEPING NOB HEADS WHO COULD NOT BE A TAXI DRIVER AS LONG AS I HAVE A HOLE IN MY ARSE OUT OF THE TRADE !!!
I KNOW OF A LAD WITH A BANDIT PLATE WHO HAS A CONVICTION FROM 2 YEARS AGO FOR POSSESSION OF A FIRE ARM WITH INTENT TO ENDANGER LIFE ! WOULD YOU WANT THIS GUY TAKING YOUR WIFE , PARTNER , HUSBAND, CHILDREN OR WHATEVER HOME ?
HE WOULD NEVER HAVE SLIPPED THROUGH NEWCASTLE COUNCILS NET !
HOWEVER I DO AGREE WITH YOU THAT THERE IS SHIT DRIVING NEWCASTLE CARS TOO AND ALL PLATES FLIMP BUT IT WOULD BE EASIER TO POLICE IF IT WAS ONLY NEWCASTLE CARS IN THE CITY MEANING NEWCASTLE ENFORCEMENT WOULDN’T HAVE TO HUNT AROUND TRYING TO FIND A NEWCASTLE CAR/DRIVER TO CHECK OUT.
THE OLD NEEDLE IN A HAYSTACK SPRINGS TO MIND TRYING TO FIND A NEWCASTLE PLATED VEHICLE IN NEWCASTLE CITY CENTRE ON A SATURDY NIGHT !
The views expressed in this site do not necessarily reflect the views of TooManyTaxis or the general U.K. Hackney Carriage Trade
@jimmy d,
when you say you do a lot of pre booked work in newcastle, is this via an office or you dishing out your mobile number?
and if anything you say were to happen to a member of the public and we DIDNT have the out of town scenario then it would be easier to track down the culprit!
jimmy, no one can convince us ligit drivers that the only reason people have moved is to save a few quid! otherwise there would be no NT or newcastle ph would there? No we all know that people flock to berwick for several reasons, taxi top signs and for hire, more leinient on criminal convictions, vehicle testing no where near as strict, locality test non existent …
… which was YOUR reason jimmy?
ohhh and jimmy, a memebr of the public has got more of a chance being ripped off by some out of town flimper than they have a hackney carriadge, why? most hacks do the job properly, 1 in a 100 doesnt account to a problem! and some bandit who knowingly breaks the law isnt bothered about adding to that and ripping a customer off are they!?!
… your excuse for your out of town plate (£££ not a valid exucse mate, we arnt daft and know how to work the cost you would save over a year!)
The views expressed in this site do not necessarily reflect the views of TooManyTaxis or the general U.K. Hackney Carriage Trade
@Am133, I totally agree with comments & it would make sense for Private hire out of town aswell as out of town hacks,to have designated pickup points appointed by the council, say Haymarket (Metro) or Manors (Metro) etc… & let all of the people who want so desperately to use these yee ha clown cars to walk to pick up points & let these cabs fight amongst themselves.
Use council cctv to fine cabs who enter the town & abuse the system, say at a charge each time of £10 & this would save the ncle plates getting done by council for lack of space.
Ncle hack cherry pickers behaving themselves & if they dont take a job, either cause they forgot there wheelchairs ramps, or I don’t know where that is or where I’m going? Get the plate off them & kick them out!!!!!! It is very easy to ask a colleague for directions or use your mobi/radio if you can’t find Liquid from the gate!!!!!
This would all make sense in my make believe world, but it is all common sense & alot of people find it hard to comprehend!
I await the critism!!!!
The views expressed in this site do not necessarily reflect the views of TooManyTaxis or the general U.K. Hackney Carriage Trade
@david-hack, if you making it hard for private hire to pick up, it makes it hard for the public to get home i.e. standing in long ques at the ranks at peak times (which would make the council realise more hack plates) in the long term would reduce the the numbers going to town if they have problems getting home, then you’d have more hacks and even less work! The answer has to be for Hacks and Private hire to work side by side, after all the Private hire bussiness is a larger then the Hack trade, so if they worded together things might get done
The views expressed in this site do not necessarily reflect the views of TooManyTaxis or the general U.K. Hackney Carriage Trade
mb i am x newcastle licened driver working as berwick suit me fine i have work as a taxis driver 4 past 34 years so do not tell me how to get round newcastle or the byker wall as well
The views expressed in this site do not necessarily reflect the views of TooManyTaxis or the general U.K. Hackney Carriage Trade
@l90, well Mr x necastle driver for 34 years thanks for helping the trade or have you just lined your pockets.
And as far as ‘do not tell me how to get round newcastle’ don’t tell me to buy a f***ing shop or car wash.
You’ve said ‘working as berwick suit me fine’ what you should have said was f*** the rest of you I’m OK. And you can’t say that it suits you fine if you don’t work in berwick!!!.
The views expressed in this site do not necessarily reflect the views of TooManyTaxis or the general U.K. Hackney Carriage Trade
@SC, The trouble is that some Private Hire and some Hacks don’t manage to work together.As demonstrated in recent years.So a solution is needed to be made for us and that solution lies,most probably,by taking a lesson from other,larger cities within the U.K. who had a problem and have all but solved it to the satisfaction of all but the Flimpers. There is nothing to fear for any Hack or Private Hire who does his/her job correctly,by following the example of other cities who have created a good working policy for both sides of the trade and in these cities the public have benefited aswell,shorter waiting times,reliable Taxis/Pri.Hire and well marshalled Ranks and pick up points. The only losers would be Flimpers and out of towners.Problem solved if every decent hard working driver gets behind a scheme such as this the problem of Flimped fares and stolen bookings could be almost entirely eradicated.
The views expressed in this site do not necessarily reflect the views of TooManyTaxis or the general U.K. Hackney Carriage Trade
@Admin, The two trades can’t ‘work together’as that would be too close to a one tier system.The images on this site show an unwillingness to abide by the rules.Private Hire pay rent to an operator who will then provide work,through good business practice,advertising and good service. Hackney Carriages are provided with Ranks and wait at these Ranks in the hope of getting a fare.For Private Hire & out of town cars to form their own Ranks around City centres is one side of these two trades overstepping the mark.Hacks have a legitimate concern over some Private Hire behaviour. I fail to see where Private Hire would have a legitimate concern over Hackney Carriage behaviour. “Simple as”
The views expressed in this site do not necessarily reflect the views of TooManyTaxis or the general U.K. Hackney Carriage Trade
@Interested Party,
As a Newcastle PH driver I do have some ligitamite concerns over hackney carriage behaviour.
1: I believe that SOME Newcastle hackneys believe that GOD HIMSELF came down and screwed their plate to the back of their vehicle. Meaning they can do what they want, when they want and Don’t seem to care about the rest of the trade as long as their ok. (mainly multiple plate holders)
2: I believe that ALOT of hackneys believe that they are bigger and better than us Worthless PH driver. But without PH drivers who would bring the punters into town so they can lord it on the ranks.
3: Because of the F***ing S*** Law that states a HACKNEY can work on the MOON as a PH driver we have got more and more and more out of town HACKNEYS polluting the streets of Newcastle.
4: Lets just say that a north tyneside office catchs a Out of town HACKNEY flimping. what can the opperators do? sack them. Then because of the law the out of town HACKNEY will just jump to a Newcastle office, then back to a North tyneside office, then why not try another newcastle office. SAME PLATE, SAME BADGE, SAME CAR AND SAME FLIMPER.
I sat a Newcastle locality test because I wanted to work Newcastle.
Alot of North tyneside drivers sat a North tyneside test because they wanted to work North tyneside.
The Rest got a OUT OF TOWN HACKNEY plate so they can work were they want when they want and they don’t have to sit a test.
WATCH THIS SPACE THIS WILL BE A ADD SOON.
HACKNEY DRIVERS WANTED. NO EXPERIENCE NEEDED. BADGE AND CAR PROVIDED. LOCAL KNOWLEDGE DESIRABLE BUT NOT ESSENTIAL AS TOM TOM PROVIDED.
The views expressed in this site do not necessarily reflect the views of TooManyTaxis or the general U.K. Hackney Carriage Trade
@MB 27, I am no longer a Taxi driver but have worked both PH & Hack. What you say in points 1 & 2. is something you will feel whichever side of the fence you are on.If you are a Hack you will at times think like this about PH and if you ar PH you are bound to have times when you think this about Hacks. It’s called the ‘Them & Us’Syndrome but in reality it is just something our minds conjure up.We are all transporting people for money.Sometimes things arn’t so good so we need to blame someone! If things are not good it’s just a fact of life, but I don’t agree with Flimping (by anybody) it’s stealing.
Point 3. Both sides of the trade would probably agree ‘It’s a F***ing S*** Law that states a HACKNEY can work on the MOON as a PH driver. Hackney Carriage drivers from Newcastle wholeheartedly supported Newcastle City Council when they took Berwick to the High Court for clarification of the Law on this matter. When Clarification was given it was ignored by Berwick. If it weren’t for the fact that Berwick ceases to be at the end of this month I think that they would have been back in court by now. I would think that things will change when Northumberland takes over and some of these out of town plates will find that life aint so cosy anymore.
Point 4. could apply to anybody they don’t need to be an out of towner to switch offices or even Local Authorities.
AS a final note I think that this site could be a useful tool,if only to get the trades and Councils talking and maybe educate the public but I have seen some crap on here. I suppose a site like this will get crap now and again as it is a threat to some people,In all my years I spent in the trade the views of the trade never had a voice like the voice that this site provides. Good Luck to you all!
The views expressed in this site do not necessarily reflect the views of TooManyTaxis or the general U.K. Hackney Carriage Trade
@ Interested party
I agree that yes anyone can switch Local authoritys but as a newcastle PH driver I would have to sit a North tyneside test have my car tested and re-plate my car but an out of town plate just has to swap a data head.
As an ex driver you will be aware of the bylaws that we have to sick to and the standards we need to achieve in-order to get licenced. But now all you need is a driving licence!! is that really how the trade should be moving forward or is it just a back door way for tom, dick and harry to get on the road helped along by greedy f***ing operators who do’t give a F*** about the drivers as we are just a number and £110 per week.
The views expressed in this site do not necessarily reflect the views of TooManyTaxis or the general U.K. Hackney Carriage Trade
ENFORCEMENT !!!! what a joke. If they are not prepared to do their job properly then their job should be put out to tender (Taxi and PH drivers please form an orderly queue). The same goes for their bosses, who are often clue-less about the Taxi/PH trade.
Does anyone know the salary that these muppets are earning ?
The views expressed in this site do not necessarily reflect the views of TooManyTaxis or the general U.K. Hackney Carriage Trade
@Mike Hunt,
I would certainly apply for the job , if it was bonus related on how many flimpers i caught i’d be f*****g loaded , i regularly see the same pricks sitting in the same place week in week out and no one else seems to notice !! roll on the advert in jobs north east .
The views expressed in this site do not necessarily reflect the views of TooManyTaxis or the general U.K. Hackney Carriage Trade
With regards the Bewicke Plates & pirates working the Toon, I always remember one sat night I had just came over the Tyne bridge into Gateshead & was sitting at a red light next to Century Radio, when a Blue line Bewicke plate pulled along side me & the driver was either turkish, but spoke no english apart from ” THE BOAT MATEY, THE BOAT WHERE IS THE BOAT?” & I said “What the Tuxedo Royal?” “YES, HE REPLIED THE BOAT, THE BOAT BOSS” So I direced he to Gates Quay & he spun round in the middle of the traffic & headed down a 1 way street into a no entry sign, if it wasn’t so funny & unbeliable that he was allowed to work as a Dodgy Hack & couldn’t even find the quay, I would have chased after him, but to be honest I hoped that he would have crashed into the tyne. Maybe he was trying to Royal quays & it could have been one of the drivers that nicked off with shankys motors to the middle east, who knows????
It just shows the volume of dross that is allowed to slip through the net & work in Ncle.
On another point I’d love to know which sad b*st**d grassed me to the council, for have a small notice in my rear window asking for a W plate or doble/7 seater wanted. I was not aware that you need to phone the council & ask permission & if they say yes over the phone then it’s sorted. What is wrong with just getting out of your car & advising me what the crack was. I’m not gonna jump down your throat, you must live a very sad & lonely life if this is what it takes to fill your night. Why don’t you concentrate on trying to take money & pick up punters in future or go home & make yourself some cocoa & cheese on toast. Oh by the way got sorted with car so message has gone! So no good getting excited in your pants when you see my Hack being driven round the down, hoping that you might get a glimpse of a illegal notice as it’s not there!!!!!!!!!
The views expressed in this site do not necessarily reflect the views of TooManyTaxis or the general U.K. Hackney Carriage Trade
@am133
f**K off back to my own licenced area,i do work from my own area dickhead,and as for wanting to work newcastle,if that was the case then i would plate my car newcastle ph as i have done your locality test and hold both hack and ph badges and done 7 years on hacks and 3 on ph,the only work i pick up from town is pre booked jobs given to me by my office, even if i get blanked i dont flimp a job,do you think your the only one who does the job properly?do i want my wife,kids or grandaughter getting in a flimpers car, NO!!!! thats why if i cant pick them up myself i book a taxi co or driver i know,and the reason im now working tynedale is because i wanted to be closer to home after my wife was taken seriously ill,not for cheaper plates or any of that shite,if as i stated i wanted to work solely in town its no hardship to me to book my car into newington road and get plated up,the only reason you have all the bandits is simple,they cant pass the locality test,which is a friggin no brainer cos any ph office will give you the answers cos the council never change the questions,i have stated quite clearly on this site my stance on the subject of out of town plates ,its wrong,its a back door entry into the trade,so i never condoned out of towners,but after your attitude directed at me in your last posting….F..k the lot of you, with a bit of luck blt and berwick council will swamp you with a couple hundred more bandits and youl all drown in the shite you spout off on this site,,you wanksplash!!!
The views expressed in this site do not necessarily reflect the views of TooManyTaxis or the general U.K. Hackney Carriage Trade
@jimmy d,
I didn’t realise i wasnt allowed an opinion ??
You told me i was talking bollox and i had clearly stated it was only in my personal opinion.
I made the wrong assumption that you worked for a newcastle/northtyneside office and not a tynedale licenced office with a tynedale plated car and for that i apologise.
Prehaps i should not have directed my respose at you and i accept you have a perfectly viable reason to work closer to home !
My reasons for wanting to keep the out of towners to designated pick up and drop of points on the outer edges of town such as the haymarket are not money orientated but to try and make it easier for the general public , i understand that genuine cars will be sent in from derwentside, tynedale or even northtyneside to take people who have booked them home to derwentside, tynedale or northtyneside and unfortunatly these genuine drivers would suffer but there has to be a change in rules .
It simply cant go on much longer the way things are !
You are right newcastle city council are a lot to blame as there enforcement is virtually non existant and there policies are a joke ! It is them who have allowed the deteriotion of the trade !
Again i apologise for the misunderstanding in my last post !
Andy
The views expressed in this site do not necessarily reflect the views of TooManyTaxis or the general U.K. Hackney Carriage Trade
@Am133, false assumptions and crossed wires , but fair play to you for the apology,im not the enemy here,we both have opinions which at times we will have to agree to disagree with one and other,and one thing that is plainly obvious is we both care about our trade and that the job is done properly,unfortunatley we are bound by out of date laws,i dont mind compatition as long as were all playing by the rules and on a level playing field and i do fully support the newcastle hack and ph lads with regard to any of these flimpers
The views expressed in this site do not necessarily reflect the views of TooManyTaxis or the general U.K. Hackney Carriage Trade
@jimmy d,
playing by the rules?
you drive a berwick plated vehicle dont you?
surely you are not playing BY the rules buy EXPLOITING the rules!
Out of date laws?
surely you dont think that it is acceptable that someone can get a plate from berwick and go to kent and work as a private hire driver do you? Surely if you REALLY care about the trade and the safety of the public, you would admit that a Licencing Authority should have total control over who drives a taxi and the testing of the vehicle in there borough!
and your yet to give YOUR excuse as to why you went to the trouble of getting a Berwick Plate and Badge, and dont use the ‘cheaper’ argument, that got blown out of the water months ago! by a berwick driver if i remember correctly!
what is it that YOU have to hide Jimmy?
The views expressed in this site do not necessarily reflect the views of TooManyTaxis or the general U.K. Hackney Carriage Trade
@jimmy d,
jimmy just read the posts (back to front) ignore the above, I too thiught that you were also working in newcastle, 2 apologgies in one day.
but I can understand why an outsider would not welcome what i saw in edinburgh, but there was no dicing with death trying to cross a road, no cars parked on every corner outside every bar, and no hacks wasting time trying to get in and out of the city! it certainly appeared to me to be a lot more civilized! the only people who begrudged it were the private hire drivers! why? cause when it was quiet at the office there was no more heading into town to nick a job!
and why should a private hire vehicle use a taxi lane?
The views expressed in this site do not necessarily reflect the views of TooManyTaxis or the general U.K. Hackney Carriage Trade@ Andy Warhol
Why should a private hire vehicle use a taxi lane??? posibly because PH and Hackney are both part of the public transport industry.
Its comments like this that make me laugh. Why do some hacks believe that they are towering above the PH drivers.
Is it because you have a SUPERIOR badge and plate because if so a could go and get a SUPERIOR badge and plate from tim buck too and still do me job but then a could use the bus lanes because then I would be a hack is that what your saying andy.
At Newcastle we have all sat the Locality test and for a while I did have my hack badge but didn’t want to line mr multi plates pockets or shead out 30 grand for a 345 year old donkey.
ligit PH and hackney drivers aren’t 600 mile apart we have sat the same test and we test or cars at the same places.
What is the difference then? ermmmmm!!!!!! that right phone or rank horay give that man a carrot.
The views expressed in this site do not necessarily reflect the views of TooManyTaxis or the general U.K. Hackney Carriage Trade
@MB 27,
simply put …
… a taxi is always a taxi in it’s own district. i.e. always available for hire.
… a private hire vehicle is only a ‘taxi’ when it has a passenger in. when it’s only the driver it’s no different to any other car.
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@MB 27,
and no it’s no the ‘same’ test. the hackney knowledge is more questions, and a higher percentage right is required to pass.
so mb, would you say rickshaws are the ‘same’ as private hire?
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Ellington sex attacker wins cut in jail sentence
Jun 15 2009 by Sophie Doughty, Evening Chronicle
SEX attacker Andrew Beal posed as a taxi driver cruising the streets on the search for victims.
But the predator has now had his jail term slashed and could soon be back on the streets.
Beal was given an indefinite prison sentence last September at Newcastle Crown Court.
But judges at London’s Court of Appeal have cut the minimum term he must spend behind bars from five-and-half to three-and-a-half years after he appealed against the severity of the sentence.
But Beal, of Breamish, in Ellington, near Morpeth, failed to have his conviction for kidnapping and abduction with intent to commit a sexual offence, overturned at the hearing.
The 40-year-old’s victim was a 19-year-old girl who got into his car believing it to be a taxi after a night-out in Newcastle city centre.
He picked up the teenager, who was in fancy dress, shortly after midnight on Mosley Street, with the intention of attacking and molesting her on the sheet-covered back seat.
But his plan was interrupted when genuine cab driver Stephen Sholder alerted by his passengers, blocked Beal’s VW Passat within moments of the abduction and alerted police nearby.
When quizzed Beal told officers he had simply offered to take the drunk student home.
But when police searched his car they found a white sheet and a spanner. Beal insisted the spanner was for odd jobs and the sheet was to protect the car seat from his girlfriend’s dog.
Court of Appeal judges agreed to reduce Beal’s minimum jail term, but agreed his conviction stand.
Beal’s lawyers had argued that at Newcastle Crown Court, Judge Michael Cartlidge had misdirected the jury that the two charges he faced “stood or fell together”.
But Lord Justice Scott Baker, Mr Justice King and Judge Peter Moss, at the Appeal Court, said the offences were intertwined, adding that the prosecution claimed the reason behind the kidnapping was “rape or sexual assault”.
Before sentencing Beal, Judge Cartlidge, heard that the predator had a horrendous record.
He has a series of convictions for sex offences, including indecent assaults in 1986 and 1987, and a rape in 1997 when he attacked an 18-year-old stranger near the Newcastle’s Central Library.
Beal beat and raped her and was given a 10-year jail sentence. He was released on licence in 2003.
Although the minimum term of Beal’s sentence has been reduced, he will still have to convince a parole board he is not a danger to the public before he is released.
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The justice in this country as an absoloute joke now
The views expressed in this site do not necessarily reflect the views of TooManyTaxis or the general U.K. Hackney Carriage Trade