A taxi driver in Hull endured a horrifying ordeal after being threatened with a knife and ordered to climb into the boot of his car by a passenger during an early-morning robbery.
The attacker, 43-year-old Dale Allison of Mayland Avenue, Hull, was jailed for seven years and two months after admitting robbery and criminal damage at Hull Crown Court.
The Ordeal
The incident happened on March 25, shortly after midnight, when Allison booked a taxi to take him to First Lane, Hessle. During the journey, he was drinking from a bottle of alcohol.
When the cab reached the Boothferry estate, Allison suddenly pulled out a kitchen knife, pointed it at the driver’s chest and demanded: “Just give me everything you have.”
The frightened driver handed over his cash, including notes and coins, before Allison ordered him to drive to a nearby Asda car park, where he used the car’s internet hotspot to make calls and even asked how much money the driver had in his bank account.
Allison then demanded the driver get into the boot, but the man bravely refused and escaped, managing to alert another nearby taxi driver for help.
When confronted, Allison slashed the tyre of the second taxi before fleeing the scene. He was arrested the following day after police tracked him down.
“Utterly Powerless”
In a powerful victim statement, the driver said the robbery had left him traumatised:
“I couldn’t sleep for days afterwards, constantly reliving what happened. I felt utterly powerless and terrified. It shattered my confidence and destroyed my ability to work in the job I loved.”
He added that he now plans to leave the taxi trade altogether, saying the experience had left him “a shadow of what I was before.”
Court and Sentencing
Allison, who had 19 previous convictions, including assault and theft, initially denied the charges — even claiming the taxi drivers conspired to rob him — before finally pleading guilty.
Judge John Thackray KC condemned the attack as a particularly serious robbery, highlighting the vulnerability of taxi drivers who work alone late at night:
“Taxi drivers play an extremely valuable role in society. They offer safe travel to members of the public late at night and are inevitably vulnerable.
Your victim must have been terrified. He bravely refused to get into the boot and managed to escape, but this incident has had a devastating and lasting impact on him.”
Allison’s defence barrister, Rachel Scott, told the court that the robbery was unplanned and that Allison had shown remorse, admitting he deserved a custodial sentence.
Sentenced to Over Seven Years
Allison was sentenced to seven years and two months in prison, with the judge noting the severe emotional and psychological harm inflicted on the victim.
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