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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
National
Fahad Tariq & Ashlie Blakey

Taxi driver caught 'texting at wheel' during school run leaves teenager 'shaken'

This is the moment a taxi driver was caught 'texting at the wheel' while dropping a teenager off at school.

Emily Cotterill was left 'shaken up' after the incident in a taxi in Hanley on Stoke-on-Trent last Thursday (November 3), StokeonTrentLive reports. The 15-year-old used her own mobile phone to record as the driver - from ABC Supreme - used his phone 'while driving'.

Her mum Samantha said her daughter was scared 'they might crash' and is now 'nervous about getting back in a taxi'. She has reported the incident to Staffordshire Police, and Burslem-based firm ABC Supreme has said the driver's apparent actions were 'totally unacceptable'.

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It said it had suspended the driver and would be letting him go as soon as it had spoken to him about the incident. Police said anyone with any information should get in touch with them.

Samantha, 34, said: "Emily was scared that they might crash and I was frightened because I didn’t want anything to happen to her. They are saying he won’t be driving anymore.

Samantha Cotterill is furious after a taxi driver was captured on his mobile phone while driving, by her daughter Emily, 1 (Samantha Cotterill/StokeonTrentLive)

"We’d never had any issues with them. He should know the road safety rules and you shouldn’t be on your phone.

"He should have been taking my daughter to and from school in a safe manner. She was shaken up about it and is nervous about getting back in a taxi."

Emily Cotterill was horrified to see the driver using his phone at the wheel (StokeonTrentLive/ReachPLC)

A Staffordshire Police spokesperson said: "At 11.05am on Thursday, November 3, we received reports of dangerous driving in Stoke-on-Trent. A man was reported to have been seen using his mobile phone while driving in the Chell Heath area."

An ABC Supreme spokesman said: "This driver will be suspended from the company until I’ve spoken to him. At which point he will be asked to leave, this is totally unacceptable."

Police said anyone with information should call them on 101, quoting incident number 238 of November 3, or call Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.

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