“Selfless” London taxi driver praised for aiding elderly victim after burglary

A taxi driver has been praised for going above and beyond the call of duty after coming to the aid of a victim of burglary.

Abdurrahman Shafiq, of Putney, sat for eight hours with the elderly victim after checking the house to see if the culprits were still in the ransacked property.

The victim was out at dinner when he was alerted to the burglary by his neighbours and jumped in a taxi being driven by Abdurrahman.

When they arrived at the house at 11.30pm they discovered it had been broken into via the patio doors and the alarm was ringing.

The neighbour and the two men tentatively entered the property fearing that the crooks could still be inside.

The 45-year old taxi driver said: “We looked in one of the rooms and we found out the house was broken into and there were signs of burglars, drawers were left halfway open and one large window was shattered. The old man was very scared that the burglars might be hidden in the house, so I took the lead and searched the whole house. Luckily, the thieves were gone.”

The raid was reported to the police, but after several calls, the trio were told that as it was the weekend no one would be able to attend the scene of the crime until the following day.

The taxi driver said: “The family of the man had gone abroad, and he was too lonely and scared to stay at home alone. Because a big window was broken, I couldn’t leave it like this, so the neighbour and I decided to stay with him. I didn’t think anything of it, I’m sure other drivers would do the same – I would happily do it again.”

The victim, who asked not to be named, contacted the LTDA TAXI newspaper to praise the selfless act of the driver who gave up a night’s earnings to sit with him.

He said: “It was an extremely kind gesture. I’m extremely grateful to Abdurrahman. It might be an extreme example of kindness, but I have had some very happy experiences with London black cab drivers.”