Cabbies hand in lost thousands

Two Oldham taxi-drivers who reunited distraught owners with large amounts of cash left in their cabs have been given special awards.

Shahzad Hussain, who drives for Borough Taxis, found £4,300 in cash with passports and bank cards in a bag on the back seat after he dropped a fare off in Chadderton.

And Abdul Khayal, chairman of Oldham Taxi Owners’ Association, discovered an elderly woman passenger had left her purse containing over £2,000 and bank cards in his cab after he dropped her off in Middleton.

Both handed back the cash, but refused rewards, a special awards night at Oldham’s Taj Palace Restaurant heard.

The evening was a presentation night for taxi-drivers who have completed their NVQ level 2 qualifications in passenger transport, but also included the special awards to Mr Khayal and Mr Hussain.

The presentations were made by members of Oldham Licensing Committee. Other guests included John Garforth, Oldham Council’s principal licensing officer.

Jennifer Plawright, call handler for Borough Taxis, said: “I got a call from a quite distraught woman who had lost money and passports and bank cards, and she had no idea what she had done with them.

“I assured her we would check and phone her, and we were able to make arrangements to drop them off.”

Mr Hussain (30) who has been a driver for four years, said: “Every time a passenger leaves the taxi we check the back and if we find any belongings we keep them safe and put them in lost property.

“I think the woman and her family had been arranging a wedding or something, but we didn’t have an address, she had just been dropped off in Garforth Street.

“She came with a relative to pick up the bag and when she saw me with it she was crying.

“We get all sorts dropped in the back of taxis, usually glasses or mobile phones, but most of the time they are not claimed and we take them to the police.”