TAXI drivers are being attacked by drunken yobs every week, it has been claimed.

The police spoke out today amid fears that cabbies are being subjected to late-night violence when passengers think they are being over-charged.

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PC Tony Walsh, of the Ribble Valley Rural Team, said there were two incidents in Clitheroe this weekend.

He said: “A weekend doesn’t go by without reports being made to the police of taxi drivers being assaulted whilst doing their job.

“The problem seems to be when a minority of customers get a taxi to take them to a destination, knowing that they do not have the money to pay for the journey.

“This usually ends up resulting in them getting into an argument with the driver and assaulting them as they try to make off without paying.

“If people require the services of a taxi, they should make sure they have the money to pay for the service.

“On the flip side, to give the drivers peace of mind they could try to get people to book or to get the money up front at the start of the journey.”

In 2011 five men attacked a 43-year-old Hackney cab driver from the rank at Burnley bus station, in 2010 a gang attacked three different taxi drivers in Brownhill and in 2013 a driver had his teeth knocked out and suffered cuts and bruising after being punched by two passengers in Church Square, Worsthorne, close to the Bay Horse pub.

Mohammed Younis, chairman of Blackburn with Darwen Hackney Driver Association, said: “Most of the drivers have had an argument with a passenger and many have been attacked.”

Taxi bosses advise drivers to fit plastic screens for protection, fit automatic door locks when the car is stationary to prevent people running off and install panic alarms and security cameras.

A spokesman for drivers in East Lancashire said: “Over the last few years attacks on taxi drivers have become more and more frequent.

“These safety measures are a small price to pay for the protection of drivers from some of the dangers faced when on the job.

“With the chance of having to deal with some violent, intoxicated people, it is advisable to have at least one of the safety measures in place before driving through the night as that is the prime time for trouble to start.” Said the spokesman.