TAXI drivers in a North_East town have told of the dangers of their job after a second cabbie in a fortnight became the victim of a terrifying armed robbery.

Ronnie Wood, 72, was working the early shift in Middlesbrough when he picked up a fare asking to be taken from Stonehouse Street to Orwell Street, in then town.

When Mr Wood arrived in the dead-end road, he attempted to turn his car around but had a knife held to his face.

The passenger demanded his takings of £7.50 plus an £11 float before making off, leaving him unhurt but badly shaken.

Cabbies say Sunday's robbery is part of a growing trend of violence aimed at drivers, many of whom are choosing to work day shifts rather than risk being robbed or worse while working nights.

Boro Cars driver James Graham is still contemplating his future after he was garrotted and left for dead by two young passengers two weeks ago.

He is having trouble sleeping since his ordeal and remains wary about returning to work after one of the passengers choked him with a belt before beating him severely about the head, leaving him unconscious.

"It must have been a hell of an ordeal for this driver as well, because he is 72 and could have had a heart attack," said Mr Graham, 41, of Wicklow Street, Middlesbrough.

"I still think about what happened and have visions of it happening again. I wouldn't like anyone to sit behind me."

Thirty-five taxi drivers have been murdered in the UK during the past ten years, but many more have been robbed, beaten, kidnapped or had their cars taken off them.

An industry spokesman said this was part of a growing trend and a North-East company had been commissioned to compile statistics on the risks drivers faced on a daily basis.

A spokesman for the National Private Hire Association said: "It is frightening the amount of violence people are prepared to use and drivers are refusing to go to some areas.

"It is not only the risk of being robbed they face. More and more taxi firms are having to deal with problems after picking people up who have been drinking and become violent."

To protect drivers, some firms are looking at installing security cameras or screens in their cars, but many private hire drivers, who are self-employed, would be reluctant to install such expensive security systems unless something happened to them personally.