London cabbie turns taxi into bedroom to cover Olympic losses

Published by Max Salsbury for 24dash.com in Housing and also in Communities

For Olympic devotees flocking to the capital expecting to pay through the nose for accommodation, salvation could be at hand.

A London cabbie is renting out his taxi to sports fans for a relatively cheap £50 a night - to cover a forecasted loss of earnings.

David Weeks has turned the back of his Hackney cab into a makeshift bedroom for the duration of the Games.

The mobile room for one comes with a foam memory mattress, a duvet, an iPad and a solar-powered fridge.

London accommodation prices have tripled for the Olympics, as landlords and hoteliers seek to cash in on the event. The average nightly price has jumped from £65 to £195.

David is expecting a drop in earnings during the Games due to the city being gridlocked, and says he has turned his taxi into a room to make up for the expected losses.

Guests won't be able to drive the taxi but David will happily take it wherever they want.

There was controversy earlier in the year when it emerged that some landlords where hiking rental prices during the games, and even evicting tenants to cash in on flusher spenders.

It was revealed that some properties typically rented for £350 per week were being marketed for £6,000 per week.