BBC News | UK | Women warned after 'minicab' rape

Police are urging people not to get into unknown minicabs this Christmas after a woman was raped by a man she thought was a minicab driver.

The 25-year-old was walking towards home in the early hours of Sunday morning when she got into what she believed was a minicab.

She was driven to a car park behind a block of flats in Kensington, west London, where she was raped, before being taken home.

Scotland Yard said in the six months to September this year, 19 women were raped or sexually assaulted by men they believed to be minicab drivers, in the West End of London alone.

I would appeal to everyone to be careful in the party season. Use licensed cabs, or use a mini cab firm that you know and trust

Detective Inspector Mike Christensen
In the latest attack, the Asian driver of a saloon car, pulled over when he saw his victim walking along Sloane Street in Chelsea, London, after leaving a late night Christmas party.

The man, described as 5ft 6in tall and very thin, told her he was a minicab driver.

Detective Inspector Mike Christensen of Notting Hill CID urged women to take extra care this Christmas.

He said: "I would appeal to everyone to be careful in the party season. Use licensed cabs, or use a mini cab firm that you know and trust.

"Agree a time to be picked up and know the driver's name in advance. Don't get in the car until you have asked the driver his name and who they are there to pick up."


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