A TAXI driver was beaten and his cab vandalised in an unprovoked attack by passengers.

Zulkarnin Zaman, 25, of Audley, Blackburn, is now too terrified to return to work at DMC Taxis.

The incident happened after the father-of-two picked up a middle-aged couple and a man in his 20s from The Veteran pub in Blackburn at 7pm on Wednesday.

Mr Zaman was directed to a dead end on Arran Avenue, Shadsworth, Blackburn, where the rear seat passengers, a couple in their 40s, launched a vicious attack on him.

The woman grabbed him from behind by the hair and tried to pull him over the driver's seat while her partner punched his face.

They demanded cash and continued to threaten Mr Zaman when he told them he had only £4.

He managed to grab his radio but his attackers ripped it from its socket before he could call for assistance.

"One of the men ran from the cab so I grabbed the other but he broke free and ran.

"The woman wouldn't let go of my hair so I opened the door and slid out. It was so painful," he said.

He raised the alarm by calling police from a nearby Spar shop.

As he did the passengers returned to the car with baseball bats which they used to smash the back window and a door, causing over £500 damage

Mr Zaman added: "It was terrifying because you don't expect such behaviour from people who appear respectable.

"I am looking for another job because it has frightened me so much. I'm not ready to get back into my cab."

A spokesperson for Blackburn Police said: "We are investigating the incident."

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