A PARAMEDIC feared he was going to die after he was beaten by an irate taxi driver as he carried out a night shift, a court has heard.

Richard Hannan, 36, told Teesside Crown Court his attacker was like a raging bull who tried to drag him from his ambulance after he stopped in a one-way street in Richmond, North Yorkshire

He said: "It was absolutely terrifying. I thought he was going to kill me. I was down a dark, lonely street at 3am with one colleague, who is smaller than I am, trying to defend myself against a giant of a man.

"I was extremely concerned for my safety. He was like a raging bull."

Mr Hannan, a paramedic for 14 years, said he and a colleague were checking which roads and bridges in Richmond were passable because there had been heavy flooding on January 8.

At about 2.50am, they drove down Castle Terrace and encountered a taxi coming in the opposite direction.

They reversed the ambulance to allow the cab to pull into a drive and allow them access, but it did not move.

Mr Hannan said: "It was the most stormy night of the year.

"The driver got out and came across to my side of the ambulance. I put down the window and he proceeded to shout abuse at me saying, 'what the hell are you doing?'

"He continued to give me a barrage of abuse then flung open the ambulance door."

The prosecution said he was subjected to a sustained attack by Richard Heslop, of Temple Court, Richmond, in which he suffered a dislocated shoulder, serious concussion and bruising to his face and body.

Mr Hannan told the jury he was off work for three months and had to undergo intensive physiotherapy and psychotherapy to help him come to terms with the assault.

He said: "I was unable to talk about it for about four weeks, I just had a breakdown. I kept having flashbacks and nightmares about it."

The 26-year-old taxi driver denies inflicting grievous bodily harm. The trial continues.