A TAXI driver has been robbed by a passenger who he picked up outside a sports bar in Colchester.

The driver picked up a man from outside the Dog and Pheasant in Nayland Road at around 5.25pm on Saturday February 26.

The taxi driver was asked to take the man to the Greenstead Estate in Colchester and as they pulled up to Scarfe Way, Colchester, he was robbed.

The robber is described as around 5ft 3ins tall, of medium build, aged in his early twenties, and with short light-brown hair with a small amount of stubble on his face.

He was wearing a light-brown jacket with jeans and a light-coloured polo-style t-shirt.

Pc Trevor Clark said: “The passenger grabbed hold of the taxi driver and demanded money. When no money was handed over the man attacked the driver.

“Having managed to escape out of his own vehicle, the taxi driver saw the man removed a handheld PDA style phone from its cradle on the front dash of the vehicle.

“The man continued to threaten the taxi driver until another man came and pulled him away and dragged him off away from the scene.

“The taxi driver is very shaken up. I am appealing for anyone who saw the man described get into the taxi, a silver Skoda Octavia, in Nayland Road.

“I would also like to hear from anyone who saw the assault in Scarfe Way. The man who pulled the man off the taxi driver is a key witness who we need to speak to.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact Pc Trevor Clark at Colchester CID on 0300 333 4444 or contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.