Cabbies 'need better protection'

Taxi drivers said they wanted better protection

There were more than 160 incidents involving taxi drivers being assaulted or robbed in the West Midlands over a year, police figures have shown.

West Midlands Police said it recorded a total of 166 incidents across the Black Country, Birmingham and Coventry between March 2006 and March 2007.

Drivers across the region told the BBC's Inside Out programme they had suffered abuse from passengers.

Taxi associations have called for improved safety measures in their cabs.

One driver, based in Coventry, told the show's researchers he had to have nearly 100 stitches in his face and head after being bitten by a passenger.

'Safer place'

In August, taxi drivers in Coventry went on strike for four days after an assault on a colleague.

Ali Yousef, chairman of the Coventry Taxi Association, said: "I think the taxi drivers feel that everyone's got it in for them.

"They'd had enough and wanted to strike so, as the chair of the association, we went for a majority vote and the majority of the drivers wanted to strike."

As a result of the action, police set up a working group, looking at the drivers' concerns and how to make their jobs safer.

Ch Supt Max Sahota said: "It's only by working with the taxi drivers that we can make Coventry a safer place".

• Inside Out is on BBC1 at 1930 GMT on Wednesday, 7 November.