Taxi driver falsely accused of kidnapping girls says reputation is in TATTERS after mum plastered his face on Facebook

A taxi driver falsely accused of kidnapping two girls says his reputation is in tatters after his face was plastered all over Facebook.

Yakup Kahramanog, 42, says he was forced to take two girls to a police station in Hull after they refused to pay him the £12 fare for taking them home.

Mr Kahramanog thought nothing of the "incident", until the next morning when his face and taxi number was posted on Facebook by one of the girl's mothers who stated he had locked them in the car, the Hull Daily Mail reports.

"This is a really horrible situation to be in, its libellous," he said.

"There are thousands of people on Facebook who have seen the post and I feel like I am being judged by them all because it has got everywhere.

"I don't want to go to work at night now, I am even thinking of leaving the taxi job and selling my car. I just don't know what could happen to me.

"How can I work confidently when I know someone who has seen me on Facebook could get in my car and attack me?"

Mr Kahramanog says he picked the girls up in west Hull at around 3.30am on Tuesday.

He said they had asked to be taken home, but before getting there, changed their minds and asked to be dropped off a few streets before.

Mr Kahramanog says warning bells began to ring when both girls took off their shoes.

"They were whispering to each other a lot and both had taken their shoes off," he said.

"When they asked to be dropped off earlier I said it was fine and stopped the car. They then tried to open the door but couldn't. It wasn't locked, you just have to push the button in.

"I said 'that's £12 please', they both asked each other if they could pay and then one of the girls pulled out £1 and asked if that was okay.

"I told them if they weren't going to pay I would take them to the police station."

Mr Kahramanog said he had offered to take the girls to a cash machine for them to withdraw money or take them home to get their parents to pay, on the basis they left some form of ID or personal belonging in the car with him for security, but said they refused to do so.

After that, he called police and said he would take the girls to the police station.

Peter Nilsson, chairman of the Hull Hackney Carriage Association, told the Hull Daily Mail he had been contacted by the mother of one of the girls following the post on Facebook.

He said he had told the woman to contact licensing with her concerns, but after speaking with Mr Kahramanog and viewing the CCTV footage, he is certain the driver did nothing wrong and followed the correct procedures in relation to passengers refusing to pay for their fare.

Mr Nilsson said: "He has acted in exactly the way he should. Our drivers are told to go straight to the police station if a passenger refuses to pay.

"Yakub was put in a very difficult situation. He never went anywhere near the girls and they were safe in the back of the vehicle.

"What he has gone through is awful. The woman has judge, jury and executed him on social media.

"I will be talking to the police again about what has happened."

Humberside Police confirmed they were aware of the incident.

A police spokesman said: "We are aware of allegations in relation to a disputed taxi fare in Hull. Advice has been given to both parties.

"This is a civil matter and not a policing issue."