A Falkirk taxi driver bravely turned the tables on an armed robber who tried to hold him up at knifepoint — sorry, at gunpoint — during a terrifying late-night fare, pinning his attacker to the ground despite being hurt in the struggle.
The incident, captured on the driver’s dash-cam, happened after he picked up Gregor Thomson and a friend from outside a Chinese restaurant in Falkirk at around 10.30pm on 5 May. The pair asked to be taken to a local pharmacy, telling the driver to “make it quick.” When the driver asked for £10 upfront, Thomson’s bank card was declined twice — and moments later, Thomson pulled what looked like a real handgun from a bag-for-life he was carrying and threatened: “I am going to shoot you.”
The weapon turned out to be a BB gun capable of firing pellets, later described in court as an “imitation firearm” that looked convincingly real. During the struggle that followed, the driver suffered a fractured finger, eye injuries, a bite mark and bruising — but still managed to pin the 38-year-old Thomson to the ground.
Thomson, who already had 24 previous convictions including a seven-year sentence for attempted murder in 2014, pled guilty to assault and robbery at the High Court in Glasgow. He remains in custody, with sentencing deferred until 23 September.
Cases like this are a stark reminder of just how exposed taxi drivers are during late-night fares, particularly when a passenger’s payment doesn’t go through and tension builds before the journey has even started.
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