Outrage over attack on charity taxi

Edinburgh taxi drivers, who arrange the annual say out for children, were disgusted after a youth threw rocks at the car.


10 June 2009 18:29 PM




Big-hearted taxi drivers have reacted with outrage after a vandal smashed the window of a cab taking vulnerable children on a special trip.

Terrified youngsters riding in the vehicle were showered with shards of glass as they passed the Meadowbank stadium.

Justice Secretary Kenny McAskill took part in the trip and decried the vandalism as “totally reprehensible”.

The organisers are hoping the police will track down the person responsible.

Organiser Keith Bell said: “It’s a sad day when we’re trying to take children with special needs and terminal illnesses away for a trip to the beach.

“He must have known it was something special because all the taxis were decorated with balloons.

“As I say, we chuck sweets and crisps off the bus for all the children on the route.

“We thought he’d picked up the packet of sweets and had thrown them back at the taxis – but we later discovered it was half a brick and the back windshield of the taxi was all caved in.

“Fortunately the children within the taxi, although they were frightened, they weren’t harmed.”

Young eye-witness Chloe Bell added: “We thought he’d picked the sweets back up and chucked them but it was actually a brick and it went through one of the taxis’ windows.”

At least they have tried to arrange an event that brings people together, well done to the lads in Edinburgh. I am sure many kids would still have had a fantastic day despite the plonker mentioned above.