A JUDGE has locked up two "wicked predators" after they robbed nightclubbers who thought they were getting into a taxi after a night out.

The driver of the black Vauxhall Vectra, 23-year-old Kamran Khaliq, was today jailed for a total of seven years after he admitted two robberies and other offences.

His accomplice Usama Yousaf, of Keighley, was locked up for 42 months for his part in the two robberies and a subsequent affray.

Bradford Crown Court heard how their first victim had been out at the Liquid nightclub in Halifax in July when she and a male friend got into the Vectra at about 4am.

Prosecutor Abigail Langford said they agreed a fare of £10 to take them to Ovenden, but during the journey Khaliq produced a knife and demanded the passengers' money.

The male shouted for his friend to run, but the woman was confronted by the two defendants as she tried to leave.

Miss Langford said the complainant thought she might be stabbed and threw her purse containing £15 in cash and a passport at the two robbers.

The court heard that the pair then drove back into Halifax town centre where they again picked up two men as they left a nightclub.

Miss Langford said one of the men was dropped off by the "taxi" before his friend was driven to another location where the vehicle parked up and the robbers demanded all his property.

The man, who handed over his mobile phone and wallet, was told:"If we hear from you again we'll do you in."

Later that same morning, Khaliq almost collided with a family's car in Commercial Street, Halifax, and during a road-rage style confrontation the two defendants tried to get into the couple's vehicle which contained their three terrified children.

When they were told by the female driver that there were children in the vehicle, they told her to shut up or they would rape her.

At one stage Yousaf armed himself with a wheel-brace and Khaliq reversed his Vectra into the couple's Vauxhall Corsa.

When police officers arrived on the scene they had to smash the Vectra's windows in order to arrest the two defendants.

Last month Khaliq, of Rosevale View, Sowerby Bridge, and 18-year-old Yousaf, of Prior Street, Keighley, both pleaded guilty to the two robbery offences.

The pair also admitted a charge of affray and Yousaf pleaded guilty to possession of an offensive weapon in relation to the wheel-brace.

Khaliq, who was banned from driving for three years and ordered to take an extended test, admitted a further offence of dangerous driving.

The court heard that Khaliq had a previous conviction for robbing a stranger and he was sent to young offenders institution for three years in 2011.

Yousaf, who was only 17 at the time of the offences, was said to have tried to kill himself while he was on remand and his barrister said he was petrified of being sent back to custody.

But Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC said the public would be outraged when they heard about the offences and he described the pair as "wicked predators" who had been looking for helpless victims.

The judge said Yousaf had played a full part in the offences and he said the affray incident was as bad as it gets.

Afterwards, Detective Inspector Sharon Hewitt, of Calderdale CID, said: "I hope that today's sentence offers reassurance and comfort to the victims, as well as the community of Halifax that two dangerous offenders are no longer on our streets.

"As we head towards the festive period and our towns are busier with people enjoying seasonal events, I would like to take this opportunity to remind people to check that your taxi is licensed and to stay safe."