Black cab 'madman'

A couple told today of their "nightmare journey" in a London black cab. They said it started when the driver deliberately set off in the wrong direction, then jumped a series of red lights.

As Terry Bean and his pregnant wife Oleysa clung to one other and pleaded with the man to stop, he mounted the pavement in Regent Street, scattering pedestrians, they said.

When the driver eventually stopped, Mr Bean added, "he said he was going to kill me, and punched me in the face". The incident was captured on CCTV, and police are investigating. It happened just after 11am on Monday, when the couple hailed a cab for what should have been a short hop from their flat in Charlotte Street to Covent Garden.

Mr Bean, 31, who runs an internet advertising company, said: "I've taken a cab to work for five years, so I know the way. This driver was going in the wrong direction so I asked him to take the way I know, but he didn't listen. He started to swear and shout at us for no reason. He became increasingly angry and irrational, he had a crazed look on his face and drove like a madman through busy streets."

Mrs Bean, 25, who is four months pregnant, said she wept as the driver careered through the West End. "I didn't want to lose my baby because of some mad taxi driver," she said. "I held on to Terry for dear life as I didn't know what he was going to do to us. It was terrifying."

The cabbie drove for another five minutes before pulling over in Haymarket. Mr Bean then jumped out of the cab and told his wife to " run for it" as he demanded the driver's number before paying the fare. He said: "It was only ?6 but I wanted his badge number so I could report him to police. He said he was going to kill me and he then punched me in the face.

"I was so shocked I threw the money at him and ran towards my wife. I'm a big guy and can take a punch, but this nightmare journey has left me shaken up."

He said he found most taxi drivers "helpful and polite", adding: "It's important that one rotten apple doesn't tarnish the reputation of the rest of them."

Unlike minicab drivers, all black cab drivers undergo thorough checks and incidents like this are rare.