Bexleyheath minicab driver claims traffic warden hit him on head with ticket machine

12:59pm Monday 25th February 2013 in News By Alan Woods

Alieu Bah with his taxi at Broadway Express in Bexleyheath. Alieu Bah with his taxi at Broadway Express in Bexleyheath.

A CABBIE claims an angry traffic warden thumped him on the head with his ticketing machine in Bexleyheath.

Forty-two-year-old Alieu Bah, a driver for Broadway Express, was collecting an elderly passenger from Albion Surgery, in Pincott Road, when he says the warden attacked him.

According to Mr Bah, the traffic warden was issuing him with the second £110 parking ticket in consecutive days when he was stopped outside the surgery on February 15.

With no sign of his 11am pick-up outside, Mr Bah says he went inside to find her and by the time he came out, a ticket was being issued to his blue Vauxhall minicab.

Mr Bah, who lives in Bramble Mews, Gravesend, told News Shopper: "I said why are you doing this to me? I was pleading to him, saying ‘don’t do that’ but he said I have already issued it.

"I was pleading, saying please, please, please. I was standing in front of him. I was right in front of the car.

"We started to argue and then with the machine he was using to issue the ticket, he just whacked me on my head.

"When he whacked me I fell down.

"It was on the side of my head, above my eye."

Mr Bah says a passer-by then intervened before police were called.

While en-route to Bexleyheath police station to give a statement, Mr Bah says he started to feel dizzy.

He explained: "They called me an ambulance and I went to Darent Valley Hospital.

"They gave me some tablets and said I don’t need to work at the minute and should stay at home."

Mr Bah, who serves passengers across north Kent and Bexley, was later signed off work for 10 days by doctors.

He added: "I have to pay rent and I’m self-employed.

"I have a lot of things to pay.

"I can’t understand why this guy can use what he uses to work to hit somebody.

"I don’t know if he doesn’t like the work he is doing but he is too aggressive.

"Something is wrong somewhere."

A Bexley Police spokesman confirmed officers "are dealing with an allegation of two assaults" and that "it is currently an ongoing investigation."

A Bexley Council spokeswoman added: "There was an incident which is currently subject to a police investigation, so it is not appropriate to comment further."

Comments(24)

handymanchris says...
1:03pm Mon 25 Feb 13

Good, Taxi drivers are a nuisance, stop anywhere regardless of who is behind them. Parking on zig zags, double yellows and in junctions to roads.

The driving standards are appalling and to be honest, any traffic warden who gives them a ticket is a job well done!

Oh, and they charge to much!

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mjb2011 says...
2:27pm Mon 25 Feb 13

@handymanchris... bit stereotypical there? not all cab drivers are bad! My Dad has done cab driving before part time on and off for a while, he has been driving for over 30 years now, and has a clean licence! something i doubt you can boast to once you've done 30 years of driving so pipe down mate!

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Virtual-Monster says...
2:41pm Mon 25 Feb 13

Wardens Strike Back - Sounds like a cheap Sci Fi movie to me. Mind you, I do see the similarity between Council Parking Wardens and Storm Troopers....

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the wall says...
4:39pm Mon 25 Feb 13

mjb2011 wrote:
@handymanchris... bit stereotypical there? not all cab drivers are bad! My Dad has done cab driving before part time on and off for a while, he has been driving for over 30 years now, and has a clean licence! something i doubt you can boast to once you've done 30 years of driving so pipe down mate!
Do you get point on your licence for parking tickets? No didn't think so.

I don't always agree with handymanchris, but I will fight for his right to say it.

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simonwebb70 says...
5:00pm Mon 25 Feb 13

Sounds like someone is trying to have a bit of a claim up!! Traffic wardens should know better than to prey on taxi drivers outside a doctors surgery when it is quite obvious that they are picking up someone who is probably elderly and needs the taxi to be right outside the surgery. This is not really news and the NS should not be giving the taxi driver column inches unless a prosecution has happened.

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Bus Driver says...
5:08pm Mon 25 Feb 13

Notice he's still illegally parked in the picture....so obviously hasn't learnt his lesson, there's also mention in the report of two assaults so did the Traffic Warden lash out with the machine after being assaulted by the illegally parked driver?

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handymanchris says...
5:09pm Mon 25 Feb 13

I dont like taxi drivers.

Rip off charges and appalling driving standards.

Riverview taxi, broadway express,carlton cars, the list goes on!

The only taxi drivers i will give way to are "Black cab drivers".

So mjb2011, unless your dad drives one of those, i will not show any respect for them!

You don't get points for parking on double yellows...... Idiot.

I have 10 years driving. Not as much as 30 but still long enough to have a moan at others.

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rojo174 says...
6:56pm Mon 25 Feb 13

A few more cab drivers could do with a clump.

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the blood eagle..ROFL says...
7:57pm Mon 25 Feb 13

rojo174 wrote:
A few more cab drivers could do with a clump.
yea and bus drivers.

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Marty1979 says...
8:03pm Mon 25 Feb 13

He was pleading?

Well if the warden had issued the ticket then he would probably walked away

If the police are investigating 2 assaults......

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Dennis R says...
10:45pm Mon 25 Feb 13

While I am not terribly fond of taxi drivers, it is my long held belief Parking Wardens have too much authority, too little common sense, and are resident at the bottom of the slurry tank.

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Hk says...
10:44am Tue 26 Feb 13

handymanchris wrote:
Good, Taxi drivers are a nuisance, stop anywhere regardless of who is behind them. Parking on zig zags, double yellows and in junctions to roads. The driving standards are appalling and to be honest, any traffic warden who gives them a ticket is a job well done! Oh, and they charge to much!
I have nothing to say about what happened with this mini cab driver I just need to respond to this comment!

Firstly, most mini cab drivers are lovely and I would say that in the main they are all fairly priced. Also it can be a nightmare job when picking up people from pubs, clubs etc late at night.

Secondly, I would always prefer to get a mini cab rather than a taxi (black cab). Yes the taxis are clean and the drivers are generally very polite etc but they charge ridiculous prices in comparison to mini cabs.

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ksc says...
12:55pm Tue 26 Feb 13

Why are we suddenly the traffic wardens best mate? I must admit cabs are a little expensive and this story is from the cab drivers point of view only and may not be 100% accurate, but I still remember the blond meter maid in Welling, that a few years ago used to shout (sometimes from across the road) oi. don't park there, because when I come back in 15 minutes I will give you a ticket.
Now the lovable traffic warden will, for want of a better word, "hide" until they are sure you can't see them and then slap you with a £110 fine, yet they assure us that they don't get a single penny extra for issuing tickets in this manor, yea, and I have no reason to call them liar's, they are all simply devoted to doing a good job.
I, like most people work hard for a pittance of pay, only to give a third of it to a stranger simply because the wheels on my car stopped in the wrong place for a few seconds, that just don't seem right to me!

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banjo8 says...
7:10pm Tue 26 Feb 13

The problem is the money-grabbing culture in which we all live. Councils screw revenue out of parking and encourage wardens to make as much cash as possible by setting targets. This adds pressure to wardens and makes them into jobsworths. I'm sure wardens get a lot of provocation as well, but the pressure they're under means they're always ready to kick off.

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goldenbroomboy says...
8:07pm Tue 26 Feb 13

Cabbie v Traffic Warden IMHO is like Man Utd v MK Dons, I want them both to lose.

Rather than argue the toss with the warden, Mr Bah should have contested the ticket.However, if he has lost earnings as a result of being assaulted by the Warden, he should issue a claim in the appropriate County Court.

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banjo8 says...
8:58pm Tue 26 Feb 13

Surely you want MK Dons over United? Mind you, not sure Mr Bah is quite the underdog he would want us to believe he is.

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BigG says...
2:00am Wed 27 Feb 13

Not making lite of a disqusting serious situation and have sympathy to the victim. Hope they catch the animal soon, cause it isn't a normal human to carry out such a nasty act.

Good job he did bang that CEO saved the Soco and Old Bill getting a Ticket in North heath parked on Yellows near Zig Zags. Missed out there mate!

No sympathy for him though,Their lower than dog S***.

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Invicta58 says...
2:35pm Wed 27 Feb 13

That motorway sign he used on the front of his shop is Crown Copyright too.

Ooops

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banjo8 says...
8:53am Thu 28 Feb 13

Not sure what difference that makes. No-one is ever going to do anything about that.

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meatmadras says...
3:21pm Thu 28 Feb 13

Parking Patewayo wouldn't of done that!

http://www.youtube.c
om/watch?v=RmLczeDLa
ZU

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banjo8 says...
11:48am Fri 1 Mar 13

what!!!!!!!!!!!!????
?????

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miss shadesnshorts says...
9:53am Sat 2 Mar 13

goldenbroomboy wrote:
Cabbie v Traffic Warden IMHO is like Man Utd v MK Dons, I want them both to lose. Rather than argue the toss with the warden, Mr Bah should have contested the ticket.However, if he has lost earnings as a result of being assaulted by the Warden, he should issue a claim in the appropriate County Court.
he is just a mini cab driver with a cheap photo id badge around his neck and a sat nav, big difference between a london taxi driver ( skilled, speaks english, licensed, insured, and carried out a indepth knowledge course of inner/outer london areas ) no one cares about mini cab drivers hun

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username84 says...
10:32pm Wed 6 Mar 13

wow this made the newshopper lol

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username84 says...
10:32pm Wed 6 Mar 13

I didn't realise this actually made the newshopper til today. I was at the scene smoking outside the surgery whilst waiting for my mother to be seen by the doctors.

I'm not one to judge a person by their job or uniform and dont want my story to sound like im taking sides.

I do think majority of cab drivers do get arrogant with traffic wardens when they are having to do their job under strict conditions from the councils as someone mentioned earlier, they are there for a reason.

If you need to pick up a customer, then do so in an appropriate place... Not on the bend of a junction where vehicles are speeding by and blocking a public walkway. If an elderly person or mother with a pushchair had to get pass the vehicle to cross the road, then they would of had to go around the vehicle and risk their lives... As said, this cabbie wasn't parked properly in my eyes and I believe everyone would have agreed from what I saw.

The warden spoke to the cab driver to move along from the position he was in and he didn't once the warden walked away. Upon that time, the driver left the vehicle for a number of minutes to which the warden came back and saw the vehicle still there and empty. Spent a few minutes doing a ticket and the driver came back aggressive and in the face of the warden, giving him a huge push on his chest back.

The warden warned him not to touch him and back away or police would be called and the cabbie seemed to get more angered by that response and swung a punch and grab the wardens machine.

As he grabbed it, they scuffled over it and the cab driver threw another punch to the side of the wardens face. The warden whilst grabbing the cabbie threw him into the railings and hit his head and the warden let go but the cabbie had him in a hold and kept throwing punches to which he got thrown into the rails again and was pinned down by the warden.

I personally didnt see any machine whack the cabbie but was good entertainment in a long time for a fag break lol.

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