'This guy was like an animal': Go Carz taxi driver beaten in suspected racist attack

Go Carz driver Amir Sajjad Malik, 37, said he was punched in the face several times and verbally abused by a passenger, in Sorbus Avenue, Hadley in Telford.

He was attacked after picking up three men. One of the group punched Mr Malik after he asked for payment before setting off to the destination in Admaston.

Go Carz manages 1,250 taxis across Telford, Shrewsbury, Wolverhampton, Walsall, Willenhall, Dudley, Sandwell and Oswestry.

Mr Malik, a father-of-two and from Wellington, said: "As far as I'm concerned this was a racist attack. The man who attacked me was calling me offensive names and swearing at me. I was worried for my life.

"I picked up these guys and one sat in the front and other two in the back. It was one of them in the rear that set about me. He seemed drunk and had something in his hand like a bottle.

"It all kicked off when I gently asked if they could pay me first and one of the other ones handed me £8.50. The one who punched me said 'I'm not paying you' and he had a go at the man who paid me.

"He was shouting and carrying on. I explained why I asked for payment. I thought things might get out of control so I decided to drive off. As I put my foot on the clutch and turned my head to the right to check the road, I felt a kind of punch on the left side of my face.

"It felt like there was some sort of metal in his hand. My nose was bleeding, the blood flow was quick. After a few seconds he got out the car and punched the boot causing a dent.

"Then he came round to my door and opened it. He punched me in my face which caused a cut above my right eye and more bleeding."

"His friends tried to pull him off me. My top ended up being ripped in two to three pieces. I said to him 'look what you've done to me'," added Mr Malik, who grew up in Pakistan.

"This guy was like an animal. He even pulled out clumps of my hair. I was in a daze afterwards. They ran off and I called the police.

"I'm now in pain around my shoulder and my head. There's scratches all over my body. I've had to shave my head because of the state it was in. I can't work now.

"All I want to do is earn a living to make life better for my family. This man didn't even know me, but hated me to do something like this. Taxi drivers get no respect in this country."

He was treated at the scene by ambulance paramedics before being taken to the Princess Royal Hospital.

West Mercia Police spokesperson Lauren Jeal said: "We were called at around 3.30am on Sunday, July 5, to reports that a taxi driver had been assaulted, in Sorbus Avenue, in Telford.

"The victim, a man in his 30s, had been to the address to pick up three men and take them to Admaston. One of the passengers assaulted the driver leaving him with injuries to his face.

"The man who carried out the assault was described as bald, he and the other passengers were described as white, in their 20s and wearing dark clothing."

Anyone witnesses with information is urged to contact the force on 101 quoting incident 157 of July 5, or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.