Local taxis under attack by hoons | Coffs Coast Crime | Robberies, Assaults and Convictions in Coffs Coast

SEASONED Coffs Harbour cabbie Lawrie Matthews is rarely surprised by what he sees and hears but he confesses he's still reeling from an attack on him earlier this week.

A beer bottle was hurled at and shattered his maxi-taxi windscreen as he drove customers into Park Beach on Monday night.

Only two nights before, rock-throwers damaged two taxis also carrying passengers as they passed under the Pacific Highway rail bridge north of Bray Street.

These shocking incidents have made our cabbies anxious and have sparked fears someone will be seriously injured if the rot continues.

Lawrie had in the back of his cab an elderly woman and her two sons bound for Vincent Street but as he turned right from Hogbin Drive into Prince Street, he saw a group of six young men run across the road in front of him.

One broke away from the bunch, he said, ran at him and threw what appeared to be a long-neck beer bottle at his windscreen.

“It was aimed at me,” Lawrie said.

“The impact sprayed glass shards across the two front seats. It scared the hell out of me. They just kept running. They were on a rampage.”

Lawrie pulled up immediately, turned around and gave chase along Hogbin Drive but they disappeared into scrub.

He again turned his cab around and continued the journey to Vincent Street, where his passengers spotted the gang 'ducking for cover'.

“I had to restrain my passengers. The two young guys wanted to jump out and take them on,” Lawrie said.

He dropped off his fare and contacted police and a resident told him youths were breaking into the York Street Oval amenities shed.

“They're running amok,” Lawrie said.

“They're scumbags running rampant. It's a big game to them - unnecessary wanton violence,” Lawrie said.

Lawrie, a cab driver here for 18 years, was thumped in his taxi last November but he's adamant the violence won't wear him down.

“They're not going to beat me. My saying is don't let the bastards grind you down,” he said. “I have a lot of people in this community who know me and the support you get from the general public is great.”

Lawrie says the group he saw on Monday at 8.40pm looked like they were in their late teens or early 20s. If you have information, contact Coffs Harbour police on 6652 0299.

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