
A private hire driver working for Elite Radio Cars in Birmingham has allegedly been robbed and threatened with a blade during a journey ferrying four young men from Queen Elizabeth Hospital to Ley Hill Park.
The alleged incident occurred at around 10pm on Wednesday 25 March. At the beginning of the journey a £10 pre-payment had been applied, but on arrival to their destination, things turned sour.
One of the four young men is said to have pulled a blade out and threatened to slice the driver if he didn’t hand the money back. They also demanded the frightened driver hand over his mobile phone, leaving him to plead for them to allow him to keep it.
A spokesperson for the private hire firm said: “Please be aware. Even in such hard times there are still thugs carrying knives. They are clearly using this situation to their advantage. It has been reported to the police and we will update you.
In a later statement, the firm continued: “We have a photo of one of the young lads, he is the one who pulled the knife on the driver, this has been confirmed by the victim. The culprit is no older than sixteen.”
The company has said they are giving the teenager a chance to come forward to hand himself in. If he chooses not to, they have threatened to post his picture online - a move the would prefer to avoid, saying “no parent wants to see their child’s face plastered over the internet”.
Elite Radio Cars has said they will not stop until the alleged offenders come forward.