A TAXI driver has spoken for the first time of the terrifying moment he was stabbed in the face by a teenage robber.

Father-of-three Roy McArther, from Darlington, was slashed across the face and stabbed in his hands with a 6in blade as he dropped the youth off in Catterick, North Yorkshire.

The 54-year-old escaped by opening the driver's door and rolling out - which caused his attacker to run off.

After the attack, Mr McArther, who has been a cabbie in Darlington for 30 years and has previously been chairman of the licensing committee, climbed back into his taxi and drove to Darlington Memorial Hospital.

He needed plastic surgery, more then 40 stitches, and he has been told he will be permanently scarred.

But last night he vowed to continue behind the wheel.

"I didn't even see the knife at first, and I didn't know anything until I felt the hot blood running down my neck," he said.

"Then he tried to stab me again, and I thought he was going to kill me.

"I looked in the mirror and my cheek was hanging off like a flap and I panicked. I didn't even think about calling 999, I just held my cheek and drove to the hospital."

Mr McArther, who is married with three children and four grandchildren, added: "I feel very lucky because he kept on going at me, and if that knife had been two inches lower, it could have been a vein in my throat."

The youth became violent as the pair drove into Catterick village at around midnight last Tuesday.

Mr McArther, who works for 1AB taxis, said the teenager had demanded money.

He said cabbies in Darlington were the victims of violence and suffered threats on a weekly basis.

He added: "I have been punched before and assaulted twice in the last two months. This town is getting worse.

"Last week, my friend had a brick thrown through his window as he drove up Stockton Road."

Fellow cabbie Lee Atkinson said: "What happened to Roy could have happened to any of us."

The pair claim that cabbies in Darlington do not get enough support from Darlington Borough Council.

But a council spokesman said: "We have invited crime prevention officers to speak to taxi licensing groups and we recommend they take care when picking people up.

"We also recommend the London-style black cabs, as they offer more personal safety."

The incident is being investigated by North Yorkshire Police, who have examined closed-circuit television pictures of the assailant. Investigations are continuing.

Anyone with any information is asked to call police on 0845 60 60 247.