A TAXI driver is recovering after a thug robbed him in what police described as a nasty and unprovoked attack.

The unnamed victim picked up three youths outside the bus station at the rear of Front Street in Stanley, at about midnight on Sunday.

The trio, all aged around 18, asked to be taken to nearby Craghead. During the journey, they argued with the driver, a local man in his 50s, over the cost of the trip.

As he neared Craghead, the abuse became so bad that the driver stopped the cab on the B6352 Middles Road and asked his fares to get out, saying he would not charge them.

The youths refused. When the cabbie opened the rear passenger door, one of them punched him several times in the face. He took the driver's bag of change, containing around £40 in coins, and the trio fled across nearby fields.

His victim suffered severe bruising to his eyes and left jaw and cheek. PC Steve Franklin of Stanley police said: "I don't believe robbery was the motive, but the attacker saw an opportunity and took the cash, leaving the stunned driver at the roadside."

He is keen to speak to anyone who saw the youths before they were picked up or spotted the trio walking into Craghead in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Anyone with information should contact Stanley police on (01207) 232144.