A TAXI driver has been left traumatised after he was robbed at knifepoint by a passenger.

The victim was dropping off the thug who then held a six-inch knife to his neck before demanding he hand over his cash.

It took place on Saturday evening just after 10pm when the driver picked up the fare at Laindon train station.

The 50-year-old said: “I was the only taxi at the rank at the time and this man approached me and asked me if I was working.

“He asked to go to Delmores in Langdon Hills and all the way up there I was thinking this guy isn’t going to pay because there’s no houses in Delmores.

“It’s kind of like a rat run for criminals to escape from certain parts of Langdon Hills so I was suspicious.

“He was trying to build a rapport by talking about football but he didn’t really seem to know much about it.

“At the end of the job he asked me about change and I unlocked the door because that’s just what you do and I thought he was coming round to my window to hand me a £20 note.

“I wound my window all the way down and turned to get my money bag and when I turned back he was holding a six-inch knife to me throat.

“I went to put the car in gear and he grabbed me and told me not to so I handed the bag over.”

The taxi driver, who has been serving the community for 29 years, has been left traumatised by the incident but has warned other drivers operating in the area.

He added: “It all happened so quickly. I’m a bit all over the place at the moment. I went back to work the next day for a couple of hours but I have taken days off since.

“I can’t think of anything else at the moment.

“The seriousness of the fact that I had a knife in my neck keeps going through my head.

“It could have been so much worse.

“I just want other drivers to be aware this happened so they can be alert.”

The taxi driver described the man as white and English with grey tracksuit bottoms and a khaki green hoodie.

He had a tattoo covering the entirety of one of his hands and was about 6ft tall with a beard.

“Something needs to be done to address this. We need more police on the streets. They do a great job with what they have but how the Government can leave our emergency services so understaffed is beyond belief.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact Essex Police on 101. When calling quote 42/96529/18.