Attacked limo owner to cancel RWC bookings

A Taranaki limousine company owner says he will cancel all bookings during next year's Rugby World Cup after he was attacked by "P-fuelled thugs" over the weekend.

CoDrive owner Graeme Waswo said that New Plymouth's CBD was so dangerous he would not be able to guarantee the safety of his staff or clients.

He owns 19 luxury vehicles, all of which are fully booked for the three cup matches in New Plymouth.

But Mr Waswo said he planned to cancel the bookings after being attacked following the All Blacks-Ireland test on Saturday night.

"They can either stay in the shed, or I'll take all the cars off the road before 7pm," he told the Taranaki Daily News.

"I'm not going to put my drivers or my clients at risk. I will not run my cars in the central area for any major sporting event - Rugby World Cup included."

Mr Waswo, an internationally-recognised consultant on transport and security logistics for major sporting events, returned to Taranaki several days ago after spending two years helping organise the logistics for the football World Cup in South Africa.

He was attacked when one of the All Black sponsors he was chauffeuring wanted to go to the toilet.

"A bunch of young Maori guys turned up. One of them threw something at the car, and when I got out to stop that from happening they just took to me," he said.

He suffered a black eye and badly swollen face but his $400,000 Mercedes-Benz S600 was not damaged.

New Plymouth police acting commander Blair Telford told the newspaper that he was not aware of the assault but there were 17 post-match arrests, mainly for fighting and disorderly behaviour.

"People were generally well-behaved -- in fact the atmosphere down there was very happy," he said.

"The only disappointing aspect was that there were a lot of very intoxicated people."

- NZPA