A TAXI driver was attacked and robbed after picking up passengers from a house in Radcliffe.

Paul Nkunzimana was working for United Private Hire when he collected two men and a woman from School Street at around 4.40am on Saturday.

The three people wanted to travel to Whitefield and Paul asked them for a deposit of £5 towards the cost of the journey.

They refused to hand over the cash and instead offered to pay with cannabis, which Paul declined.

The passengers then told Paul that he had to buy some cannabis from them and demanded money from him.

Paul, who lives in Prestwich, said: “I told them that they owed me money for the fare and I didn’t owe them anything. I thought they were joking.”

When he refused to pay, the man in the passenger seat started to punch Paul as he drove the taxi.

He kept his hands on the wheel in the hope that a passer-by would see what was happening, but the passengers used the hand-brake to stop the car in Water Street.

Paul, aged 37, got out of the taxi and was pushed to the floor by the men. They continued to kick and punch him as he lay on the ground.

As he was attacked, the woman searched his taxi and stole his earnings for the day — around £245 — and his mobile phone.

Paul said: “I had no idea that the passengers would do this when I picked them up. They booked with the operator as usual. I was very frightened because I couldn’t fight back against three people. They said they were going to kill me and I was really scared.”

The two men and woman eventually left Paul, who got into his car and drove to the taxi office in Ainsworth Road.

He called the police and an ambulance and was treated by paramedics for cuts and bruises to his hands, legs and face.

Despite being attacked, Paul returned to work on Saturday evening because he needed the money to support his wife and three children.

But he is unhappy that after many calls from the police, he did not see an officer until he went to Bury Police Station on Monday to make a statement.

Paul said: “I was attacked and robbed and I am disgusted that I didn’t hear from the police earlier. I don’t understand why it took so long.”

The police are investigating the incident, though no arrests have yet been made.

Chief Inspector Sean Hogan said: “When the victim reported this offence, just before 5am on Saturday, he told officers that the assault had happened 15 minutes ago, and that he was safely back in the taxi office where he is based.

“At the exact time the response officers who would have been tasked to go and see this man were also being tasked to respond to three other incidents where people were immediately at threat.

“We work on a graded response system, meaning that incidents where there is an immediate threat to life are given a higher priority than other calls.

“This assault was given a grade three response. In an ideal world an officer would have been to see this man sooner, and this was clearly a distressing incident for him, but it would be unfair to suggest that the delay in someone visiting him is due to anything other than officers being very busy elsewhere.”