A THUG strangled a Worcester taxi driver in a terrifying attack which left the victim fearing for his life.

The driver, a father-of-two from Worcester, picked up four passengers at The Cross taxi rank and was set upon as he drove towards Pershore.

During his ordeal, a yob sitting directly behind him leant over and gripped him around the neck, choking him until he blacked out.

It left the driver, 39, who lives off London Road, with a damaged windpipe, unable to speak properly.

The group, three men and one woman, even paid their fare in full before one of them decided to attack him as he drove them towards Pershore at about 3.45am on Tuesday, July 30.

The driver, who is too scared to be named, said: “I’ve been a driver for nine years and nothing like this has happened to me before.

“I picked them up and we were going towards Pershore when the guy behind me sat forward and put both his hands around my neck.

“I was still driving at the time and I felt helpless.

“The man carried on squeezing my neck tighter, I could hardly breathe.”

He pulled the car over on the B4084, Worcester Road, just before the turn for Station Road, saying the other passengers were “screaming” at the attacker to loosen his grip as he blacked out.

As he came around, the gang were standing down the road and the woman approached him to ask if he was ok and apologised.

The group then disbanded.

“He probably held me for two minutes - I really felt he was going to kill me,” he said.

“If he had held my neck for a further 10 seconds I really believe he would have killed me with the amount of force he was using.”

The driver went to Worcestershire Royal Hospital after the incident and is now recovering from a damaged windpipe at home.

“I was left shocked and afraid,” he said.

The customers were described as all being white and in their 20s.

One man was about 5ft 10ins tall, of medium build, had short dark hair, was clean shaven, wearing a short sleeved t-shirt and blue jeans.

The other two men were both of medium build – one had short hair and the other had thick hair on top.

Sergeant Martin May, from West Mercia Police, said: “This was a distressing incident for the taxi driver and he has told us he has been having discomfort in his throat since.

“If anyone was in the area of Worcester Road and Station Road in the early hours of Tuesday July 30 and saw this incident take place please come forward.”

She can be contacted on 101, using reference number 20N 300713 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.