TAXI drivers in Burnley are still working in fear of being attacked by their customers, drivers said.

A cabbie was punched by two men as they left his car in the early hours of today, stealing his £30 cash float.

The pair had paid up front for the journey, from the offices of King's Taxis, Yorkshire Street, but took their money back after launching the attack as they were dropped off in Pendle Way, just before 1.20am.

Dilwar Khan, a driver at the firm, said his colleague was not badly injured and was expected to return to work tonight, but said workers remained concerned about their safety.

He said: "It happens quite a lot and we do have a lot of problems in the Pendle Way area, especially late at night on Fridays and Saturdays with this kind of trouble.

"There's very little we can do about it. We can refuse to take people, but you never know who is going to make trouble and who isn't. You never know what is going to happen round the corner.

"When a driver is on his own in a vehicle, they are vulnerable and they don't know who they are picking up.

"It's dangerous and it's frightening but what can we do? We all have to make a living."

Detective Sergeant Simon Chater said police were still working hard to combat the attacks. He said: "Our hate crime and diversity unit holds regular taxi forum meetings where drivers can air any problems and we can talk to them about the best ways of dealing with them.

"We treat all these matters extremely seriously."

Police were questioning two teenagers, a 16-year-old and a 19-year-old yesterday. They had been arrested near the scene.