Llandudno taxi driver victim of nightmare attack in Llanrwst

Jun 18 2009 North Wales Weekly News

Taxi driver attack

A TAXI driver is too traumatised to work at night following a vicious attack by a man who tried to choke him and steal his takings.

The driver thought he was going to die in the assault in Llanrwst during the early hours of Sunday.

“I’ve got four children and I honestly believed I wasn’t going to see them again,” said the 30-year old Llandudno man who asked to be named only as Tony.

“He grabbed me from behind in a headlock and was strangling me, I started to go dizzy.”

And the self employed cabbie is warning other drivers to be on their guard when they pick up late night fares.

“This is the second time in a few months that a Llandudno driver has been attacked and I want to warn others to be very careful who they let into their cabs,” he said.

Tony said he had no inkling when he picked up two men outside the Broadway Boulevard nightspot in Llandudno that the night would end in violence.

“They paid me half the fare to Llanrwst and said they’d get the other half when they got there,” he added.

“They chatted on the way there and seemed OK, but when I stopped in the square in Llanrwst one jumped out and did a runner.

“I pressed the lock so the other one couldn’t get out and said I wanted the fare. The next thing he grabbed me from behind around my neck and went wild, headbutting me and trying to bite my ear, saying he wanted my takings.

“I was terrified but I didn’t want him to take my night’s takings because that’s the money to feed my kids, so I slammed my foot on the accelerator and got onto the A470 towards Betws-y-Coed before slamming on the brake hard.

“He let go and jumped out of the car and I phoned the police. At that point his mate came back so I started reversing down the road with them chasing me.”

Tony says his nightmare only ended when a passing ambulance stopped and the crew got out.

“The lads ran off, but one came back and said he was sorry and apologised for his friend, but it was a bit late for that,” he said.

Tony was left with a bruised neck, a bruised and bloody nose and a black eye after the attack. But he says the psychological damage is worse.

“At the moment I don’t want to work at night, but I’ll have to do it eventually because that’s when we make our money – I can’t afford to lose the income.

“I work hard to keep my kids and I fought back as best I could because I didn’t see why they should suffer because of a yob,” he said.

North Wales Police is appealing for anyone with information about the attack to contact their local police station.