Derby teenager racially abused taxi driver who offered to give him free ride

A teenager from Derby launched a tirade of racist abuse at a taxi driver who had offered to take him home for free, just days before Christmas.

Malakai Blackham called the taxi driver to pick him up at around 4.25am on Wednesday 22 December 2021, asking him to take him to his home address in Alsager Close, Oakwood.

But when the cabbie arrived, Blackham, who was 17 at time, said he had had his mobile phone and £1,000 worth of jewellery stolen, meaning he may not have the fare for the journey.

Siward James-Moore, prosecuting, told Derby Crown Court that as it was the taxi driver's last journey of the night and Blackham was clearly upset, he agreed to take him home anyway.

Upon arriving, Blackham, now 18, was able to provide some of the fare, which totalled around £4. Blackham then went into his home to find more money.

But Mr James-Moore told the court that upon returning, Blackham launched into a barrage of abuse, screaming "f*** off, you P***" and waving his fists around, which even managed to attract the attention of a neighbour who was getting ready for work.

"I should be able to come to work without being racially abused"

As the taxi driver called the police and tried to leave the scene, Blackham was heard to shout "go away, P***".

In a statement read out by Mr James-Moore, the taxi driver said: "At no point do I deserve to be abused. I should be able to come to work without being racially abused."

Blackham later pleaded guilty to one count of racially aggravated threatening behaviour on the day of a scheduled trial, on Tuesday 5 July, 2022.

He had one previous conviction, for a harassment offence, for which he was given a youth rehabilitation order and a curfew on 14 September 2021.

As part of that sentence, he was subjected to a four-month doorstep curfew, which was still active at the time of the incident with the taxi driver.

Judge Jonathan Bennett, presiding, proposed to revoke the original youth rehabilitation order and impose a new community order and curfew.

Following this indication, Chris Aspinall, for Blackham, made no representations. Handing Blackham a community order, the length of which was not specified in court, Judge Bennett branded the offence as "very unpleasant".

He said: "It is a very unpleasant offence because the complainant is doing a difficult job. He is a taxi driver, it is quite an unpleasant job at night for these guys, taking people who are often drunk in their vehicles.

"He did you a favour, after you said you may not be able to pay the fare, nevertheless he took you home.

"He tried to get the rest of the money, and for his trouble, he is abused and racially abused by you on more than one occasion.

"You did this not long after you were in the Crown Court for an offence for which you got a curfew, and should have been indoors."

As well as the community order, Blackham was ordered to complete 90 hours of unpaid work.

He must also pay £200 compensation to the taxi driver he abused, and will be subject to a curfew from 9pm to 5am every night from September 6, 2022 to January 24, 2023, with the exception of December 24-26, 2022.