Female taxi driver injured by violent bilker

Jordan Davies, 24, of no fixed address, admitted two charges of failing to pay a fare and one of assault at North East Wales Magistrates' Court.

Repeat offender Davies, who was homeless at the time of the offences, failed to pay an Oswestry taxi driver for a journey she took, and then went on to refuse to pay a female driver for a fare which led to an assault on the driver.

Davies, described as homeless following a relationship break-up, was given a rehabilitation order and ordered to carry out 150 unpaid hours in the community, pay compensation of £29.50 and £8 for the unpaid fares, and £50 compensation to the injured taxi driver. The court heard that in January a taxi driver from Oswestry, picked up the defendant and took her to her desired destination. But on arrival she went to a house, returned and said she had no money to pay, leaving the driver out of pocket. During another incident, which took place in February, a female taxi driver took the defendant to a destination where she once again failed to pay the fare.

She said she would go and collect the money from within the property she was dropped off at and left her bag behind as a way of assuring the driver she would return.

But Davies returned without payment and instead tried to grab her bag and run. During the altercation, the driver sustained injuries to her fingers. Probation officer Pamela Roberts told the court that the defendant, in the last few years, had spent time homeless after a break-up and had been working in Liverpool as an exotic dancer. As reported in the Shropshire Star, Miss Roberts said that the defendant had some underlying beliefs and attitudes that would benefit from probation intervention if the risk of re-offending was to be reduced. Bethan Jones, defending, said that her client was living in a chaotic situation.

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