Hero students save taxi driver from attacker

Three undergraduates at Aberystwyth University saw a drunk customer assaulting an Ow’s taxi driver near Harley’s and reacted instantly, saving the driver and calling the police.

When waiting in line for a taxi on Portland Street on Tuesday night just after midnight, Tom Weaver, Ben Jones and Tony Thomas picked up on movements in a standing taxi.

Instead of drunkenly walk away and go about their student party night, the students had the presence of mind to react fast. In pulling the attacker out of the taxi, the young men prevented the attacker from any further assault on the taxi driver.

Tom, second year Physics student told The Tab: “Two of my mates and I were walking down the street that Harley’s is on and there was a row of taxis that were not moving.

“Something seemed to be going on in the front taxi so we stood and looked for a bit and then realised something was up.

“I opened the passenger door and all three of us pulled the passenger out of the taxi while another driver from one of the other taxis made sure the driver was ok.”

Initially, the situation was unclear. Tom said: “It looked like they were hugging, it was all a bit of a mess really, the driver was also shouting a lot I think.”

He added: “The attacker was very drunk, but in the end the driver was fine apart from a bleeding nose and seemed a little shaken up.

“We talked to the passenger for a bit and he was convinced the driver had assaulted two of his female friends beforehand so he decided it would be a great idea to hit him at the end of the journey, the police were called and we left shortly after they arrived.

“I was worried initially but then once the passenger was out of the taxi you could see everything was relatively alright, could have been much worse.”

Tom Weaver

Local Aberystwyth police Sergeant Gareth Cross confirmed the incident and told The Tab: “There was an incident involving a taxi and another male and that some students who were in the area and who witnessed the incident have assisted the police and the taxi driver.”

Due to the ongoing investigation, the police cannot provide further details on the matter, however assure that the incident is a rare assault in Aberystwyth. Cross said: “These kinds of things don’t happen very often. Aber is the safest place in the UK and has the lowest crime rate.

“The assault rate here in Aberystwyth is very low at the time. It’s not something to be concerned about and there is not a trend to be expected.”