Posted on the 2nd October 2025 in PHTM News

HOSPITAL ORDER FOR MAN WHO STOLE SWANSEA TAXI AND LED POLICE ON DANGEROUS CHASE

A Swansea court has issued a hospital order for a man who robbed a taxi driver at scissor-point before leading police on a dangerous, high-speed pursuit in the stolen vehicle. 

Nicholas Daniel, 35, now diagnosed with schizophrenia and severe personality disorder, was deemed to be suffering from acute psychosis at the time of the offence.

The incident began on the evening of July 29 last year when Daniel was picked up by a Yellow Cabs taxi. After purchasing alcohol from a shop and returning to the front seat of the Skoda cab, Daniel brandished a pair of scissors taken from his mother’s home.

Prosecutor Ian Wright told Swansea Crown Court that the taxi driver initially didn't take the threat seriously until Daniel held the weapon to his stomach, stating: "I'm serious. I don't want to hurt you. You have to get out." The victim fled, leaving his keys, and Daniel drove off.

The stolen cab was spotted an hour and a half later in Morriston, being driven "erratically." Daniel rammed police vehicles and sped at up to 60mph on the wrong side of the road, "narrowly avoiding collisions with a number of cars and motorbike," the court heard.

The chaotic chase ended only after a "stinger" device was deployed, causing Daniel to lose control and crash into a traffic island, a parked car, and an oncoming vehicle.

The stolen taxi and another vehicle were written off.

Upon arrest, Daniel told officers he had taken an overdose and was taken to hospital. He later revealed in an interview that he had stolen the cab with the intention of driving it off a cliff at Worm's Head to "end his life." When questioned about his driving, Daniel, who only holds a provisional licence, boasted that he was an "excellent" driver.

Daniel had pleaded guilty to robbery, dangerous driving, and several motoring offences three days before his scheduled trial. The court heard that in the weeks leading up to the crime, his family had desperately sought help for his rapidly deteriorating mental health.

Sentencing Daniel, Judge Catherine Richards acknowledged that a defendant without a mental health disorder would face a "significant" term of imprisonment. However, she noted the "significant deterioration" in Daniel's mental health prior to the incident and accepted that he was suffering from acute psychosis, including "fixed persecutory hallucinations and command hallucinations."

To protect the public, Judge Richards ordered a Section 37 Hospital Order under the Mental Health Act, combined with a Section 41 Restriction Order without limit of time. 

Daniel was sentenced via video-link from a mental health facility in Milton Keynes.


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