Source: BBC News
A man has been charged with raping a 19-year-old student in Newcastle.
The woman got into a dark car, which she thought was a taxi, after becoming separated from friends in the city centre early on 5 December.
She was driven to Hawick Crescent Industrial Estate, off St Lawrence Road in Walker, where she was attacked.
A 24-year-old Gateshead man will appear before Newcastle magistrates on Monday morning charged with rape, said Northumbria Police.
{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }
Well the Police and Evening Chronicle never fail do they, on the Chronicle Website tonight there is a line that reads “Det Insp Miley states, It’s good advice to pre-book a Taxi home!.
Not good advice for the Hack trade over the Christmas is it?
The views expressed in this site do not necessarily reflect the views of TooManyTaxis or the general U.K. Hackney Carriage Trade
listen, the police dont care who does or doesnt make money, they care about one thing only and thats getting the city centre emptied as soon as possible. all the isp is hoping for here is that more people book a taxi home, so that they know when they are going and dont end up walking round the town all night out of it.
it is LICENCINGS job to come out and state that people should look to getting into a prebooked taxi or a licencced nnewcastle hack, but licenncing wont educate themselves or the police never mind the public!
as for this unfortunate yet inevitable rape case, lets not forget that the council HAVE been warned for well over a year now that it was only a matter of time before somethinng like this was to happen, as we ALL know that as long as someone has for wheels and a key he can do as he wishes down there, and sadly, its been this way for a while.
The views expressed in this site do not necessarily reflect the views of TooManyTaxis or the general U.K. Hackney Carriage Trade
@Andy Warhol, I got one of them pre-booked taxis the other night because I wanted to now who was taking me home. They sent me this guy who looked like he’d just stepped off the boat. I asked him to take me to Barley Mow and he wanted forty quid upfront and he asked me how to spell it so he could put it into his sat nav. I said mate you don’t even know your way around your car never mind Barley Mow. Needless to say I got straight out and into a proper taxi on a rank.
The views expressed in this site do not necessarily reflect the views of TooManyTaxis or the general U.K. Hackney Carriage Trade
well i would so far to as say that this recent rape case MAY have been prevented if the council and police had taking note of warnings pitched to them over 18 months ago!
i wonder how this girl or her family would feel knowing that the hackney trade have warned of this scenario for some time without ANYONE acting on it.
what i was VERY suprised to see this weekend, was more and more of the usual any joe with a car parking up anywhere in the city centre. I would have thought any decent insp worth his salt would have had a ‘show of force’ and had his officers approaching parked up vehicles and chasing them out of the city, to show them and the public that it wont be tolerated people parking up within the city centre approaching drunk young girls where they may be mistaken or pass themself of as a taxi! i mean even those that refused to move on would do so when they find out traffic police were on there way to check the vehicle with a fine tooth comb. i mean, how many boy racers are road legal?
but know, disapointingly it was carry on as normal.
The views expressed in this site do not necessarily reflect the views of TooManyTaxis or the general U.K. Hackney Carriage Trade
@Andy Warhol, Spotted a car last night 5 or 6 times between 11pm and 4 am blatently pretending to be a taxi he was everywere Mushroom, Magic flame, Flaming grill and Tup Tup late on to name just a few !!!!!
Pulled away from Tup Tup when hack pulled in behind him But he had been talking to a lass through the window and keep tapping away on his tom tom as if it was a data ?
Wrote reg down just in case but no one is interested, council well a did not even bother and as stated the police just fob you off so who shall a report it to ??????
The kid might be totally innocent but i doubt it !!!!1
The views expressed in this site do not necessarily reflect the views of TooManyTaxis or the general U.K. Hackney Carriage Trade
@Am133,
exactly just who? had similar inccidents myself, as have MANY other drivers. Police officers say, see enforcement, and enforcement say see the police if it is not a taxi! Wouldnt you think in the name of saftey to young drunk female revellers these guys would sit down and find out just who is responsible for what! in my eyes they both are responsible for the saftey of the public when getting home.
all i reccomend you do is keep getting the info and REPORT it to a nearby police officer (as there are never enforcement around when it matters) and make a note of the police officers number when he fobs you off as he will, and when he asks why tell him you want to know who is RESPONSIBLE if that young lady is attacked, as will her parents and the press.
hounestly its getting worse than london down there! One guy was asked how much to durham, price quoted, the bloke said no chance they will take me for half that, pointing at the line of boy racers down the bigg market, low and behold off he goes and after a bit of battering he was heading down the market in the back!
havnt the police relised that the more and more private vehicles there are parking up in the city the more and more rape and attack allegations are going up!
The views expressed in this site do not necessarily reflect the views of TooManyTaxis or the general U.K. Hackney Carriage Trade
and another thing, has anyone heard the adverts from newcastle on the radio about the door supervisors to make sure they are legal and have a badge from teh council and what to do if they dont!
i mean these adverts are paid for by licencing? yes?
so can i just ask who thought it was safer to tell the public how to spot a dodgy doorman, than a dodgy taxi?
sometimes you have to be carefull what you wish for, but as theres a general election comming up isnt it about time we take a chance on one of the others and vote these lib dem lot out, as responsibility has to lie at the top!”
The views expressed in this site do not necessarily reflect the views of TooManyTaxis or the general U.K. Hackney Carriage Trade
Yes Andy I have heard that Radio Advertisement for the past week, it’s naughty they should have had something for you and the Hacks in the wake of recent events!, however “Bouncers” are SIA Licensed and CRB, the SIA is National, so some may not be known to the Council as long as they have a SIA Door Supervisors Badge!, NVQ in which is National of course and the CRB!!
SIA or a private security training company could have financed that, because there is a AD the same for Manchester or Liverpool, not sure which.
The views expressed in this site do not necessarily reflect the views of TooManyTaxis or the general U.K. Hackney Carriage Trade
@Stephen Arthur, Does anyone out there have any sleeping pills I could borrow?
The views expressed in this site do not necessarily reflect the views of TooManyTaxis or the general U.K. Hackney Carriage Trade@Stephen Arthur,
Hello Stephen,
On Monday 7 December 2009 at the Licensing Forum (Our Coffee Morning) Jokingly for you Stephen.
We were told that a grant from the Home Office or Europe was given for Taxi Marshall`s and Plastic Glasses for Public Protection Schemes. but it could only be spent on certain things, but if this funded the Radio Advert, then I agree it could have included a reference to Locally Licensed Hackney Carriage Taxis, and what to look out for on the Licensed Taxi Vehicle, to identify if it is North Tyneside Licensed White Door Crest, or Newcastle Licensed Red Door Crest, etc.
Hope this answers your query, as I did ask for the North Tyneside Drivers questions, and this was the answer I received Stephen, but unfortunately our next meeting is not until February 2010.
Try contacting colin.macdonald@northtyneside.gov.uk
as he will answer your email, because he has the contacts, as Deputy Head of Licensing behind Ken Wilson.
The email address of all council employees tends to be their name with a dot seperating@northtyneside.gov.uk for any council worker. Newcastle will be the same @newcastle.gov.uk for the Newcastle Lads.
The views expressed in this site do not necessarily reflect the views of TooManyTaxis or the general U.K. Hackney Carriage Tradeand do you know something, if i am driving round, as i have done, and seen kids climbing on roofs at night, possibly breaking and entering or just messing about, and i phone the police or flag a copper down to tell them, bang, blue lights on and there off.
do the same when a young girl gets in the back of a plain car or the same car is circleing the city late on a saturday night and parking outside bars watching the girls and nowts done!
The views expressed in this site do not necessarily reflect the views of TooManyTaxis or the general U.K. Hackney Carriage Trade
@Andy Warhol,
i had the same a few months ago spotted 2 lads breaking in to a van and within a minute 2 riot vans 3 or 4 focus’s, a dog van, a traffic car and then the police helicopter !
God only knows how but the 2 kids evaded them !
But the turn out of police was tremendous !
Gonna keep a diary in the car with things i spot and maybe keep pestering licencing although i know now nothing will probably come of it ………
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Berwick have increased this risk to the Drunken Vulnerable!
Predators like Animals weigh up situations, for example if you are the Predator and you fancy pretending to be a Taxi Driver, you would see what the average Car looks like, and what is that in Town?
A unmarked Car with a Plate on the Back shelf, now that’s hard is’nt it?, Not!!
So basically if you are a Sicko and have a four Door Car you can look just Like a Bandit!!!
The views expressed in this site do not necessarily reflect the views of TooManyTaxis or the general U.K. Hackney Carriage Trade
@Stephen Arthur,
or you could walk into licencing and request 2 door crests for whatever number, and even a copy plate. and they will even ask you which name you want on the receipt!
or better still, steel a newcastle hack plate and then go and get 2 magnetic doorcrests made up.
it’s not just the berwick plates that are easily copied at this time of year. at one time every hack driuver in newcastle knew of each other, nowadays the trade probably has one of the highest turnovers of staff going. people come and go, stay and leave all the time.
no, maybe lets not forget this was just a plain black car, no stickers etc. does this not tell the authorities just how EASY it its to commit a crime like this in newcastle at this present moment and time! yes i accept the guy has been caught, and rather prompt. and i’ve no doubt that the police are patting themselfs on the back for the swift action, however, if certain people took note and acted on what was said 18 months ago, well no swift p[olice action may not have been needed.
The views expressed in this site do not necessarily reflect the views of TooManyTaxis or the general U.K. Hackney Carriage Trade
@Andy Warhol, or indeed as i saw on saturday night standing on the corner of the bigg market letting the lasses try on there hats and getting there pictures taken .(keep up the good work guys. )
The views expressed in this site do not necessarily reflect the views of TooManyTaxis or the general U.K. Hackney Carriage Trade
Saw a plain car one night when sitting outside of Tup Tup,the guy got out and said if I have any knockbacks send them to him.He did’nt have a plate,and I noticed when he got back in his car he had just a white top sign with TAXI written on it,told the police about him and they just said “We can’t do anything unless we actually see him in the act of inviting the fare into his vehicle”
No point telling anyone they are just not interested,they are only happy when the town is clear.
The views expressed in this site do not necessarily reflect the views of TooManyTaxis or the general U.K. Hackney Carriage Trade
@bozo,
i wonder if any driver notified the police of this vehicle prior to the inccident? i wonder if there is an officer out there with a guilty concience?
probably not, as i think the order to ignore taxi drivers comes from higher up the chain.
The views expressed in this site do not necessarily reflect the views of TooManyTaxis or the general U.K. Hackney Carriage Trade
@Andy Warhol, I wonder if there is an ex-licensing officer from Berwick out there with a guilty conscience as well?
The views expressed in this site do not necessarily reflect the views of TooManyTaxis or the general U.K. Hackney Carriage Trade
@Ollie Beak, yes indeed there must be! i really would have gone into hiding after the balls up he has made of the whole system, but instead he starts a taxi advice business; priceless. Would not touch with the longest of BARGEPOLES!
The views expressed in this site do not necessarily reflect the views of TooManyTaxis or the general U.K. Hackney Carriage Trade
@David Walls, hey David walls (sausage) must be one of your shortest replies and u didnt mention any of your qualifications lol
The views expressed in this site do not necessarily reflect the views of TooManyTaxis or the general U.K. Hackney Carriage Trade