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Police hunt gunmen who robbed Southampton cabbie

4:10pm Wednesday 5th November 2008

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DETECTIVES are hunting two gunmen who held up a taxi driver in Southampton.

The armed men, both wearing masks, tapped on the window of the driver’s car while he was having a rest between calls last night.

He had pulled into the layby outside Hollybrook Cemetery, opposite Southampton General Hospital in Tremona Road, when the pair pointed the gun through the open window.

The taxi driver, aged 50, was said to have been extremely shaken and handed over £65 before the pair ran off into the cemetery.

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Police were called at 11.45pm and armed response units were deployed to the scene where a search of the area was carried out.

Det Sgt Dave Jackson, from Bitterne CID, said this type of crime is extremely rare.

He said: “It is unusual for someone to target a taxi driver in this way and he was, naturally, very shaken up. Officers were deployed to the scene and carried out a full search but nothing was recovered. I would now urge anyone who saw something suspicious or who knows anything about what happened to come forward and speak to us.”

The first man is described as white, around 5ft 10in, of medium build and wearing a beige jacket with a hood. His accomplice is said to be around the same height and build but there is no further description.

Witnesses should contact Bitterne CID on 0845 045 4545 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.


Your Say YourDaily Echo

Georgem, Southampton says...
10:15am Wed 5 Nov 08

Poor guy! But what dumb criminals. They've committed armed robbery, and when caught will (fingers crossed) be sentenced appropriately. For what? £65? Pointless.

Georgem, Southampton says...
12:36pm Wed 5 Nov 08

Harsh - but fair!


Not in the least bit harsh, IMHO! If you go around pointing guns at people, expect to get shot. Simple

Finlay, Des Moines Iowa says...
1:25pm Wed 5 Nov 08

"Det Sgt Dave Jackson, from Bitterne CID, said this type of crime is extremely rare. "

Rare! It's rare? As in a 50 year old taxi duffer getting crocked over at gunpoint 'rare'? Check the records Detached Surrogate Dave Jackson and if they havent filled in the logs cos they lost their crayons then read the papers.

Gun crime in Soton is worse than it has EVER been. This isnt a taunt its a fact.

Number6, Southampton says...
1:38pm Wed 5 Nov 08

Everybody is assuming this ACTUALLY took place.Nobody knows the identity of the cab driver or his background,fabricati
on can always mask other forms of theft......at this point I will be reserving judgement.

Georgem, Southampton says...
2:36pm Wed 5 Nov 08

Everybody is assuming this ACTUALLY took place.


Of course we are! It's what's been reported! You could equally apply this logic to any story. Do you refuse to believe anything you're told until you see concrete, irrefutable proof? Must be tricky, really, since we're as yet unable to even prove beyond all doubt that we even exist. Rant over, I know what you're saying, but when commenting, we do have to take certain things as a given, such as the event took place. It would be unnecessarily complicated if we were to constantly first challenge the basic premise of a story

Boris Remmington, Wellow says...
4:09pm Wed 5 Nov 08

Normally its the cabbie who robs you for a rip off fare

Miles Sway, Scotland says...
4:21pm Wed 5 Nov 08

Probably robbed the Taxi so they could pay for the biggest robbery of all in that area - the Gen Hospital car park fees!!

South, Southampton says...
4:31pm Wed 5 Nov 08

Boris Remmington wrote:
Normally its the cabbie who robs you for a rip off fare
lets hope no one in your family gets robbed at gun point - the council set the fares so they are the ones ripping people off.




South, Southampton says...
4:37pm Wed 5 Nov 08

Number6 wrote:
Everybody is assuming this ACTUALLY took place.Nobody knows the identity of the cab driver or his background,fabricati on can always mask other forms of theft......at this point I will be reserving judgement.
what a supid comment, maybe he dosent want his name in the echo as his details can be traced through southampton city council licencing dept website, why would he make it up he is self empolyed and wouldnt get anything out of it anyway

Number6, Southampton says...
5:04pm Wed 5 Nov 08

South wrote:
Number6 wrote: Everybody is assuming this ACTUALLY took place.Nobody knows the identity of the cab driver or his background,fabricati on can always mask other forms of theft......at this point I will be reserving judgement.
what a supid comment, maybe he dosent want his name in the echo as his details can be traced through southampton city council licencing dept website, why would he make it up he is self empolyed and wouldnt get anything out of it anyway
supid? dosent? licencing? empolyed?
It appears I may be slightly better equipped in the brain department than your good self.

StuRomseySaint, North Baddesley, not Romsey says...
5:10pm Wed 5 Nov 08

lol, what a stupid cabbie, surely what he should have done is claim he had £1000, torched his cab, and claimed on the insurance? Was it really worth the claim for only £65?

South, Southampton says...
5:11pm Wed 5 Nov 08

my spelling aside, why the negative comments? or are you one of those people that always think the worst in people?

Tevez888, Southampton says...
5:11pm Wed 5 Nov 08

This City is getting worse, Knives, Guns, what next a suicide bomber... what has the world come to when you could lose your life for £65!

That is 11 hours work just on Minimum wage!

Now pretend a Policeman has knocked your door....
We are sorry to inform you but your Husband/Wife/Child/e
tc died for £65 which equates to 11hours work!

How disgusting! These blokes (I assume they are blokes) need the bullet not the Taxi driver!
Its a disgrace when you cannot go out and make a living for yourself without getting a gun pointed at your head!

When is it going to be an actual life sentance for carrying a weapon around?
If you have a weapon there is intent to use or threaten with it, in my eyes that is as bad as doing it, it is the difference of 1 second whether they get a life sentance or a slapped wrist, just one second, a bang or silence from no use, either way there is threatening behaviour and this needs to be dealt with.

Give anyone who holds an object which is against the law, life in prison.
This would stop or lower the actual chance of these things happening.

Seriously a LIFE SENTANCE.

The intent is there whether to just frighten or to actually kill. You are not to do it!

Georgem, Southampton says...
5:26pm Wed 5 Nov 08

It says he handed over £65, Tevez, nothing about where it came from, how much he actually had or how long he'd been working. Pure projection there, I'm afraid.

Plus, brandishing or possessing a weapon must be treated more leniently than actually using it, otherwise there's no incentive not to use it.

Henry's world, Southampton east side says...
6:45pm Wed 5 Nov 08

Risk a decent prison sentence for £65 quid, that sums these numpty's up. I will give them 10 days until there caught the tracksuit bottom , reebok classics , hoody wearing sh#t for brains low lives.
I bet there look at as heroes in the Warren , wrongens
Henry's mate , can you sum these maggots up in a few sentences ?.

King Mush, Woolston says...
10:44pm Wed 5 Nov 08

Obvious points being missed. These lowlife slimeballs only blagged £65 - did they know that this actual sum was on offer?

Taxi drivers do get some flak but most of them are decent family guys just tring to make a living.


It's bad enough with their passengers - smelly, drunken, drugged-up, vomiting, aggressive sleazeballs they have to ferry back to their slums. Plus risk of being ripped off by the last passenger doing a runner.


Big Boy, Hythe says...
3:55am Thu 6 Nov 08

Couple of drunks with an immitation?

South, Southampton says...
12:51pm Thu 6 Nov 08

Denzil wrote:
South wrote:
Denzil wrote: £65 is that it? Essruu puts him to shame. What a rubbish taxi driver.
maybe it was the early part of his shift - supid comments from the nob that is denzil
Or maybe it was at the end of his shift and he's a rubbish taxi driver. You stupid illiterate goon.
how dose this make him a rubbish taxi driver?do you think a cold tuesday night is a busy night for taxis then? if he has not made much money its down to no bookings-not him. its all down to the recession.-t w a t!

anyway he was still robbed and lost £65 quid maybe not much to you but for him maybe alot, so would you be rubbish at your job if a gunman walked into your workplace and pointed a gun at you and made you hand over £65.00 quid, thats if you have a job!

South, Southampton says...
12:55pm Thu 6 Nov 08

who thinks Denzil should be banned from the Echo website?

Georgem, Southampton says...
1:02pm Thu 6 Nov 08

South wrote:
who thinks Denzil should be banned from the Echo website?
More pertinently, who knows a way to prevent someone using a website?

No point banning people just because you don't like what they say, anyway. Where does it end, and who has the final say? I'm not particularly bothered by Denzil's rubbishy, boring outpourings. Others are. I find constant rants about how bikers cause their own accidents themselves and deserve everything they get unpalatable, others don't. Who's to say what's right?

sambo, southampton says...
3:28pm Thu 6 Nov 08

For the people that have wrote those stupid, unfair comments, your pathetic, you have no idea what he has gone through since this happened, how would u feel if this was a member of your family...To see a grown man cry, or to b scared to go out the house, i know coz hes my step dad, but to be honest your not worth the typing on this page!!
Thanku for for all the postitive comments, and hope they get these 2 men off the street, so they dont do it to someone else....

King Mush, Woolston says...
2:19am Fri 7 Nov 08

South wrote:
who thinks Denzil should be banned from the Echo website?
Not many. He has self- moderated much of his stuff since the new registration and knows he can be bounced off the site should he overstep the mark.


I've never been 'offended' by anything he has posted and found some stuff quite amusing.

I'm only 'offended' by many of the scumbags that form the subject of many a crime-related thread.

ohdearhowsadyouallare, Southampton says...
10:24pm Fri 7 Nov 08

You are all sad muppets who need to get a life. Who is interested in your comments - ask yourselves that!

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