AssetID: 55122635
Headline: RAW VIDEO: Horrifying video shows "feral" youths jumping on taxis with cabbies left terrified
Caption: WORDS BYLINE: Nicola Jordan Fearful taxi drivers are considering boycotting a town bus garage after coming under attack from “feral” youths jumping on their cabs. Cabbies say yobs on bikes have been targeting their moving vehicles, jumping on their bonnets and preventing them from moving off safely at the Waterfront Bus Station in Chatham. Police attended reports of a “disturbance” which broke out around 7pm on Monday (September 22) in which drivers were allegedly assaulted, and a dispersal order was put in place. A video, believed to be the same incident, showing yobs jumping on the bonnets of cars around the bus station, where taxis have access, has been circulating widely online. In the clip atleast two boys can be seen holding onto the back of a white Toyota Prius as it pulls past the Pentagon shopping centre and up Waterfront Way. One boys falls off the back of the vehicle but stays on his feet while the other remains on the roof. It’s understood that one taxi driver was injured and taken to hospital. Others are now considering boycotting the town centre, amid fears for their safety and damage to their vehicles following a spate of recent, similar incidents. Nigel Jackson, chairman of Medway Licensed Taxi Drivers Association, has described the spate of thuggery as “very disturbing”. Speaking on behalf of the hundreds of drivers he represents across the Towns, he told KentOnline: “I have been made aware of four incidents, and the police have been informed. “Let’s hope that they will be reviewing CCTV and these feral young kids will be brought to account.” Mr Jackson added: “It’s very unfair. Our drivers already get abuse, especially racial abuse as well as physical abuse. “They are just doing their job. They have a duty of care to our customers to get them safely from A to B. “If their vehicle is damaged, they are out of action, and this is their livelihood.” A police spokesman said: ”We were made aware of a disturbance near to Waterfront Bus Station in Chatham shortly after 7pm on Monday (September 22), where it is alleged that a group of teenagers were behaving in an antisocial manner and preventing taxis and buses from moving safely around the area. “Two drivers were reportedly assaulted. “Officers attended, and a dispersal order was put in place while enquiries into the incident are ongoing.” Arriva, the operator which runs the majority of BUS services from the depot, has been approached for comment.
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