Cabbie 'kidnaps' Christmas tree when teen can't pay

A taxi driver drove off with a Cardigan family's Christmas tree, because their teenage daughter didn't have enough money for her fare.

Nineteen-year-old Jodie Slater had been out with friends when she took a cab home from Cardigan town centre. Arriving back home, she discovered that she didn't have enough money for the £15 fare, and went inside to find more - but when she came back out after ten minutes the taxi had gone.

It was only the next morning that the family realised the Christmas tree was missing.

"I couldn't believe it. He just drove off with our Christmas tree in the back of the cab," Jodie told the South Wales Evening Post.

"It was all wrapped outside the house waiting to dry - and mum was going to decorate it the next day. She was fuming when it was gone."

When mum Angie phoned the cab company, they admitted that they had taken the tree as security.

"We get a lot of girls who have been out drinking and if they get home and don't have money to pay then we take their mobile phones – we usually end up with a dozen a weekend," said Robin Davies of Robin's Taxis.

"This girl refused, so the driver saw the Christmas tree, noticed the £15 price tag matched the fare and took it with him. They came to the office the next day, she seemed a bit shame faced, so we gave them the tree back. We are not Scrooges."

Failure to pay a taxi driver amounts to 'making off without payment', which falls under the Theft Act 1978. The police will prosecute if a passenger dishonestly fails to pay - and, no, being drunk isn't an excuse. Things are a bit different if a passenger disputes a fare and leaves their name and address, as this is then a civil rather than a criminal matter.

Generally, taxi drivers tend to try and reach a compromise - for example, like Robin's Taxis, by taking a phone or other valuable item as security.

Sometimes, though, they get things wrong. Recently, for example, a taxi driver abandoned an 11-year-old autistic girl by the side of the road after telling her that her fare had run out. Tameside council's licensing department is investigating, and the taxi company has apologised for the driver's behaviour.

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