AFTER a good night out, it's a relief to sink back in the seat of a minicab and know you will soon be safely back home.

With the introduction of licences for minicab drivers and proper police checks, people should feel safer than ever when catching a cab home.

But who makes the cabbie feel safe? We have all read stories about minicab drivers who have been robbed, beaten and even murdered while at work.

But do we really treat cab drivers like they were "nothing", as if they are servants who can be threatened and abused, as one minicab boss accuses?

Most minicab drivers do the job to earn money to keep their families. Sometimes it cannot be a pleasant one, chauffeuring drunken people hardly able to stand or speak, sprawled in the back of your car, who are being sick and haven't enough cash to pay the fare. Then there are the violent passengers, drunk and swearing, who threaten the cabbie and then leave without paying.

No wonder two drivers from a Bexleyheath firm were terrified when they were hijacked by a group of men, who threatened to shoot them if they weren't driven to their stated destination. When we call a minicab we can check whether the driver is licensed and properly checked. But who protects the honest cabbie from the rude, the violent and the dishonest punters?
LINDA PIPER