AN ASIAN taxi driver was attacked and racially abused after he picked up a group of youngsters in Hereford city centre and took them to Newton Farm, a court was told.
There was a dispute about the fare, said Ian Ball, prosecuting, and the driver was struck before the passengers ran off without paying.
Daniel Bufton, aged 21, of Springfield Avenue, Hunderton, Hereford, and Jamie Whittingham, 17, of Rogers Avenue, Hunderton, Hereford, both pleaded guilty at Worcester Crown Court to making off without payment and racially aggravated assault.
Bufton – who had 21 previous convictions to his name – was sent to prison for six months.
His barrister, Scott Coughtrie, said no serious injuries had been caused in what was an alcohol-fuelled argument.
Bufton, he added, had since disassociated himself from a gang in Leominster.
Whittingham, who had 11 previous convictions, was said by Giles Nelson, defending, to have made good progress after a recent spell in detention.
Sentence on him was deferred for six months.
Judge Alistair McCreath said that courts had a duty to protect taxi drivers “who were carrying out a vital public service often in the early hours of the morning”.
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