By Fong Chau

MINICAB driver Ahmed Sanufi saw red when tow-truckers turned up after he stopped on a Red Route outside the East London Mosque in Whitechapel to pick up a passenger.

He left his car unattended for a few minutes to collect his passenger when they began hoisting his vehicle onto the truck on May 1.

"I was gone for less than five minutes," he told the Advertiser.

"When I got out my cab, they were going to tow it away, so I jumped back in."

He refused to budge. But the tow-truckers carried on regardless… and poor Ahmed ended up on the truck locked inside his Hyundai.

Ahmed, pictured by Advertiser reader John Rush, said later: "You're allowed 20 minutes for loading and unloading.

"I went into the mosque to get my passenger and go to the toilet. It took less than five minutes."

But the tow-truckers wouldn't listen. They called police and Ahmed had to concede and let his vehicle be impounded. He ended up with a £400 'on the spot' fine for parking on a Red Route.