MUM GIVES BIRTH IN TAXI THEN RECEIVES £40 CLEANING BILL FROM CAB FIRM.

A new mum who had her baby in a taxi was horrified to get a £40 bill for cleaning the cab.

Jenny Larkin went into labour in the early hours. Partner Tim Galloway, 29, called a taxi to take her to hospital.

Jenny, 22, said: “Tim told them it was maternity and when the driver came he had plastic sheeting on the front seat and said it was fine to sit there.

“By the time we got to hospital the baby was coming and five midwives dashed out and I had to deliver him in the taxi.” Jenny and 7lb 15oz son Finley were discharged from hospital in Middlesbrough later the same day.

But two days later cab driver Steven Morrell turned up at Jenny and Tim’s home in Redcar and presented them with a £40 cleaning bill.

The mum-of-three said: “I was mortified. He knew I was going to maternity and had put sheets on the front seat.

"We’re on benefits and £40 is a lot of money.”

Mr Morrell, responsible for cleaning his own cab as part of his contract with JP Taxis, said: “Someone’s got to pay for it. I don’t think I’m being nasty."

Craig Walker, who owns JP Taxis, said the driver had the right to pass on his bill to the family in accordance with a council bylaw.