Kind Cabbie Gave Skint Men Free Ride Before They Battered And Robbed Him

A kindly taxi driver who generously agreed to give a free ride to a pair of blokes with no cash had his kindness repaid with a savage beating.

Francis McBride, 71, agreed to drive both Michael Edhouse and Daniel Swaincotta home as favour when they were stranded in Rochdale town centre with no money.

But despite the taxi driver’s generosity the pair viciously assaulted Mr McBride during the journey, leaving him battered and bloodied. They stole his £300 night’s takings and his taxi meter which was worth £400.

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During the attack, Edhouse, 25, leant forward from the back seat and put Mr McBride in a headlock and began throttling him. Meanwhile Swaincott, who was in the front seat, punched Mr McBride four or five times in the face.

The pair then threatened to kill the taxi driver before warning him: “Don’t contact the police.”

Despite the pairs warning, and in severe shock, Mr McBride managed to drive to a nearby supermarket and contact the police. Officers found him in a “distressed and dishevelled state” and covered in blood.

Speaking later about the attack Mr McBride said:

The attack left my face in a real mess

I had picked them up in Rochdale and was taking them to Oldham as agreed.

But next thing I knew one of them put his arms around my neck and was holding me as though he was going to kill me.

Mr McBride suffered severe bruising to his face, eyes and body following the attack.

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The pair were arrested the following day, in a pub, after they were given a tip off from a barmaid. A large amount of loose coins and money bags similar to ones stolen in the raid were found in a sports bag owned by Edhouse.

Both men denied the attack claiming that they had paid up front for their ride home and got out of the car and walked away once they had been dropped off.

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Both men suggested Mr McBride must have been attacked by someone else but were convicted after a trial. Today the pair were starting a total of 11 and a half years in jail.

Mr McBride, has been a cabbie for 40 years has now returned to work but said: “the attack had left him too frightened to take fares after midnight.”

Tom Percival

More of a concept than a journalist, Tom Percival was forged in the bowels of Salford University from which he emerged grasping a Masters in journalism.

Since then his rise has been described by himself as ‘meteoric’ rising to the esteemed rank of Social Editor at UNILAD as well as working at the BBC, Manchester Evening News, and ITV.

He credits his success to three core techniques, name repetition, personality mirroring, and never breaking off a handshake.