Cabbie tells of his shock at knifepoint attack

Mohammed Abbas, 35, is so shocked by the late-night incident he is worried about getting back in his cab.

Mr Abbas, a driver for Girlington All Over Taxis in Bradford, was viciously attacked after collecting a fare from an address in Derby Street, Clayton , at about 10pm on Monday.

He said a man came out of the house and got in the back seat. Mr Abbas had only driven for a couple of hundred metres when the man pulled out a knife and demanded money.

The private hire driver, who is married, said: “He threatened to stab me and when I said I had no money he went for my leg with the knife.

“I moved out of the way, but then he went for my neck.

“I put my hand in the way to protect myself and it was cut by the knife. My hand started bleeding.”

Mr Abbas got out of the car to escape the knifeman, who chased him and grabbed £50 takings.

Mr Abbas said: “I was sounding my horn and shouting ‘help me, help me.’ Some people came out of their houses and the man ran off.”

He was treated at hospital for a cut to his hand and was unable to work yesterday.

He said: “I am still psychologically affected by what happened and I don’t feel like getting back into a taxi at the moment. I don’t want to do it anymore – I am thinking of giving it up.”

Asif Shah, manager at Girlington All Over Taxis, said: “It’s a very serious incident, but it could have been a lot worse. Fortunately we don’t get many people carrying knives.

“There’s not much we can do, except hope the public works with us to understand the job we are doing.

“We hope the person responsible for this is taken to court and a sentence passed which will be a deterrent.

“It is unacceptable for any public service driver to be attacked in this way. If there is anything more that can be done to help all drivers, then it should be.”

Detective Inspector Ryan Bragg, of Airedale and North Bradford CID, said that three men and a woman had been arrested in connection with the incident, and inquiries were ongoing.