Taxis running a missile gauntlet (From York Press)

Taxis running a missile gauntlet

2:12pm Wednesday 18th June 2008 in News By Haydn Lewis, haydn.lewis@thepress.co.uk

LIVES could be lost if youths don't stop stoning taxis in York.

That's the stark warning from York Taxi Association, after a spate of incidents where yobs have stoned vehicles close to the University of York, causing thousands of pounds of damage to cars.

Taxi drivers are having to run the gauntlet on Thursday nights, as youths pelt their cars with stones, bottles and bricks on Heslington Lane in York.

Judy Horwell, of York Taxi Association, said Thursdays were a popular night for university students going into the city centre on a night out, and there was a constant stream of taxis driving up and down Heslington Lane, ferrying them back and forth.

But recently there had been a spate of incidents involving teenagers aged as young as 13 who lie in wait to stone the passing cars.

In the early hours of Friday morning five taxis were damaged by youths who threw stones from behind a gate near Low Moor.

Mrs Horwell, who is York Taxi Association's police liaison officer, said the police had been involved and had promised to step up patrols on the road.

She said: "We had one guy who had his brand new Vauxhall Vectra dented after it was pelted, causing thousands of pounds of damage which he will have to pay for out of his own pocket.

"I drove down there myself and had something thrown at the car which hit one of the sills, and the girl who was in the cab at the time actually screamed because she didn't know what it was.

"If this doesn't stop it's going to cause an accident - it only takes something to smash through the windscreen and hit the driver for the car to go off the road.

"I hope that parents reading this think about where their children are. If anything like this happened to their cars there would be an absolute outcry.

"These vehicles are independently owned and each driver is responsible for their car, it's paid for by them and they have to pay for any damages."

Mrs Horwell said a similar incident on Huntington Road in York last week also involved a taxi having a bottle thrown at it.