A taxi driver who was threatened with a knife during an attempted robbery is to receive criminal injury compensation from his attacker.
The victim was sent to collect a fare in Ribble Valley Village, a rural location not far form Clitheroe where the taxi driver is based.
When he arrived at the location on 2nd October at around 3am he was attacked by a man with a knife.
His attacker, a 17-year-old man of West Bradford, gave a guilty plea at Blackburn Magistrates’ Court.
Magistrates’ referred the teenager to the Lancashire County Council youth offending team for a year, where he will come face to face with his attacker. The idea is that by undergoing this process, the teenager will be forced to think about his actions and their consequences.
He was also ordered to pay the taxi driver £350 in compensation plus £85 in court costs.
According to police, he attacked the taxi driver when it stopped to collect the fare.
The attacker held a knife to the tax driver’s throat and demanded cash.
The taxi driver tried to grab the weapon, sustaining cuts to his fingers and neck in the struggle. At this point the attacker, whose face was masked by a balaclava, grabbed the car keys from the ignition.
The taxi driver pushed the door open knocking the attacker off balance, at which point he ran away.
Following the incident, the police launched a major search for the attacker which proved fruitless. However, he was later identified and arrested.
