Man jailed after attempted robbery on taxi driver

A man who attempted to rob a taxi driver and threatened to kill him, has been jailed.

The Western Telegraph reported that 28 year old Jack Whitbread of Castle Quarry, Monkton was jailed for two years and four months at Swansea Crown Court after admitting attempted robbery.

Brian Simpson, prosecuting, told the court how Whitbread took a taxi from Castle Square, Haverfordwest, at 3.40am on 6 May, telling Hafiz Farooq that he wanted to go to Pembroke.

Whitbread paid the cabbie an agreed fare of £30, however on arrival Whitbread changed his mind and told the driver that he wanted to go to Monkton instead.

Mr Farooq told Whitbread that it would cost an extra £5 on top of the agreed figure.

Whitbread then began to threaten the cabbie and punched him in the face. 

The terrified driver drove towards Monkton while Whitbread continued to make threats to kill him, he also demanded his original £30 back. When Mr Farooq told Whitbread that there was a camera in the vehicle, Whitbread replied, "I don't give a f*** about that”. Whitbread told the cabbie to drive down a dark country lane but Mr Farooq refused. Whitbread told Mr Farooq that his brothers will come and get him, and then said: "I will kill you stone dead." Mr Farooq got out of the car and tried to run away. Whitbread chased after him and caught hold of the cabbie, however he ran away when he realised that Farooq had dialled 999 on his mobile. CCTV coverage of Castle Square was used to identify Whitbread, who claimed to be drunk when police arrested him. Whitbread was told by judge Carl Harrison that this was the attempted robbery of a taxi driver at his place of work, at night and while he was intoxicated. 

Image Source: Geograph

Image Author: Nigel Davies