A Norwich taxi driver has been cleared of sexually assaulting a woman after pulling over in an isolated lay-by after dark.

Hyder Ali, 50, had been accused of molesting the woman after telling her to get into the front seat of his cab on the A140 near Dunston.

He was a self-employed driver working for ABC taxis in January 2022 when he picked up the 40-year-old care worker in Norwich to take her to Long Stratton.

Hyder Ali outside Norwich Magistrates' CourtHyder Ali outside Norwich Magistrates' Court (Image: Newsquest)

Ali, of Appleyard Crescent, was found not guilty of a single charge of sexual assault following a trial at Norwich  Magistrates’ Court. 

On route he admitted having stopped his taxi at a lay-by between the A47 and Dunston Hall and again at another stopping place near Swainsthorpe. 

Prosecutors had alleged he had touched the woman’s breasts, thighs and stomach through her clothing after she got into the front seat. 

READ MORE: Norwich taxi driver denies sexual assaulting three women

Giving evidence the former cabbie, whose taxi licence has been suspended since the allegations, said he had stopped initially to have a pee and the second time because the woman had agreed to get in the front. 

He admitted touching the woman but said it had been with consent following a conversation able going to the gym during which she had also touched his muscles. 

The lay-by on the A140 between the A47 and Dunston Hall where the taxi pulled overThe lay-by on the A140 between the A47 and Dunston Hall where the taxi pulled over (Image: Google)

The court had been told that dashcam footage recording conversation inside the taxi had stopped just minutes before the alleged assault.

Footage of earlier in the journey played in court showed the pair engaged in friendly conversation but had included chat about whether she was married and her sex life. 

Giving their verdict magistrates said the evidence of the complainant was “not consistent with the dashcam evidence for the part of the journey that we saw”. 

Ian Fisher, for Ali, criticised the length of the police investigation which has taken two and half years to reach court with statements from some witnesses not taken until 15 months after the alleged offence.