Taxi drivers stage protest outside Elland Road Police Station

Leeds taxi drivers stage protest outside Elland Road Police Station over violent attacks

Leeds, England — Taxi drivers from across Leeds held a protest earlier outside Elland Road Police Station. Demonstrators allege police are ‘failing to protect us’ from “racially-motivated” attacks.

Several drivers report that teenagers are throwing stones and bricks at cabbies, sometimes when there is also a passenger inside. Moreover, offenders are allegedly ‘getting away with it’.

A self-employed taxi driver Asif Afzal said police were not doing enough to prevent the attacks.

“There are all sorts of horror stories. I know of one lad who had a breeze block thrown through his window while a customer was inside and he had to swerve, nearly hitting two pedestrians,” Asif said. “It’s a wonder nobody has been killed.”

Furthermore, the cabbie adds that youths are targeting taxi drivers since a lot of them come from a certain ethnicity. According to him, these attacks happen more frequently on estates where the young people are mainly white.

West Yorkshire Police claims the force is working with drivers and partner agencies to find ‘long-term problem-solving measures’. They have released a statement regarding the protest and attacks against taxi drivers.

The protest reportedly took place at 11am outside West Yorkshire Police’s Leeds headquarters at Elland Road.

“This is our opportunity to say, ‘enough is enough’,” Asif said. “We’re talking about people’s safety here.”