Sex, lies and McDonald's: Leeds taxi driver reveals what really goes on in the back seat

The taxi driver can play the role of friend, therapist and diplomat.

The unique environment in which someone - often drunk - gets into a confined space with a stranger they will never see again means they are more likely to let their guard down.

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Now one Leeds taxi driver - working for an 'internet-based taxi firm' - has written about all the weird, wonderful and sometimes downright disturbing things he sees and hears behind the wheel.

"As a taxi driver, you learn about people's secret lives and they tell you things that they will never share with their spouse or family members, especially not if they were sober," said author Aaron Kline, born and raised in Leeds.

"Sometimes you have to be very diplomatic, making sure that you don't express your real opinion about passenger's actions, whether it's cheating on their partners or taking drugs.

"You gain a lot of insight about what actually happens in people's personas lives - sometimes, too much insight."

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Getting the builders in

In one such incident, Aaron, who has done the job for just two years, picked up a passenger from an industrial estate.

"Unusually, and sounding very upset and anxious, the customer called me and asked how long I was going to be," Aaron writes. "I sensed this guy was in a desperate hurry."

Aaron said he had 'never seen someone so furious' as the man - Paul - got into the taxi and told him to put his foot down all the way to Harrogate.

Paul was on the phone swearing and threatening to break someone's legs.

It turned out that Paul's partner had taken the day off to allow a drainage company in to replace gutters on the roof.

During the day, his partner went upstairs only to find a worker standing in the bathroom with her underwear in his hands.

"I barely stopped the car before he jumped out and rushed into his house," Aaron writes. "I hoped that the worker had enough sense to leave the site, otherwise he was about to be a dead man for sure."

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Busted

Another ride involved a man and his female companion heading back to York after a night in Leeds. The man had been spotted in town and his wife had been informed.

"The wife called him to tell him that she would set his clothes on fire, along with his work laptop, if he didn't come home as soon as possible along with the woman that he had been with," Aaron writes.

"On arrival, I wished I could have been a fly on the wall to see the wife launch her approach."

Aaron had the last laugh when a big-headed customer and his girlfriend got in his taxi.

He alerted the customer to a suspicious patch of white powder around his nose, but the man didn't wipe it away and seemed rather proud of himself.

They stopped off at McDonald's, where the man was rude to staff before going inside to the toilet.

After 15 minutes, Aaron decided to head in to find out what was taking so long - the man had been stopped by police officers on a break after they noticed the man and found a bag of cocaine in his pocket.

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Life lessons

Other stories involve a bloody fight between three friends in the back of the taxi, a woman so drunk she soiled herself - and many of intoxicated people, often young and vulnerable, putting themselves in danger.

"Initially, my intention for writing this book was because I wanted to tell the world about my first-hand experiences and concerns for young teenagers, exposing the potential dangers that exist on a night out," Aaron said.

"I have witnessed the risks of getting too drunk and wanted to advise how vulnerable situations can be avoided.

"If I can help to save one person from being in a dangerous situation, I will have accomplished my original purpose for writing this book."

Aaron's book, Insane Taxi Driver Confessions, is available to buy on Amazon.