A TAXI passenger fled without paying his £50 fare after taking a ride in Leominster, a court has heard.

Bradley O'Keefe entered a guilty plea to one count of making off without making payment to magistrates in Hereford in July.

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The court heard from prosecutor Mark Hambling that the 31-year-old had, knowing that payment was required on the spot, dishonestly made off without paying and with intent to avoid paying a taxi far of £50 in Leominster, Herefordshire, on January 15 last year.

O'Keefe, of Greenvale Road in London, was fined £40 for the offence, with magistrates saying that they had taken his guilty plea into account when coming to their decision on the penalty.

No order was made for prosecution costs to be paid due to his lack of means, but O'Keefe was ordered to pay a £34 victim surcharge, which is used to help fund services supporting victims of crime.