Cabbies pledge help in rapist hunt

A cabbies' leader yesterday pledged "maximum co-operation" with police hunting a taxi driver who raped a 13-year-old girl.

Bob Oddy, general secretary of the Licensed Taxi Drivers' Association, which oversees the 17,000 cabs and 22,000 drivers operating in London, said the association was considering the possibility that a bogus driver could be involved, adding: "There are hundreds of second-hand taxi cabs in London and it is perfectly possible that the rapist could have got hold of one."

Mr Oddy's pledge came after police appealed for help in the hunt for the driver of a black cab who subjected a 13-year-old girl to a terrifying ordeal, raping her three times while she was on a sightseeing visit to London.

The victim, who comes from Southampton and is now 14, was attacked after being picked up by the black cab in The Strand at about midnight on Sunday, 23 March.