A 65-year-old taxi driver has told how he was bottled then slashed with the broken shards of glass by a group of passengers who refused to pay.

Grandfather Victor Shuttleworth’s injuries mean he must take at least three months off work to recuperate.

But the incident has left him terrified and uncertain of whether he will ever return to his job.

“I don’t want the clowns to put me off but I keep hearing the bottle smash over my head”, he said.

Two separate taxi associations said the attack on Mr Shuttleworth was a symptom of the increasing violence towards drivers. They called for extra CCTV in cabs.

Mr Shuttleworth, who lives in Darwen, had picked up a fare from Chippys Taxis Railway Road, in the town at around 11.45pm on Tuesday.

He said the passengers told him they had no money but could pay when they reached their destination.

They arrived at an address in Clayton-le-Moors, after midnight but Mr Shuttleworth said the resident at that address did not have any money to pay the fare.

They then asked to be taken to another address in Accrington to get the £14 they owed, according to Mr Shuttleworth.

Mr Shuttleworth said he had locked his car and walked with them towards the address when a pint sized bottle was smashed across the right side of his head.

He fell to the ground and was kicked and slashed with the bottle.

Mr Shuttleworth, who had only started the job a week ago, said: “I heard the noise from the bottle hitting my head. You don’t feel the pain straight away but I fell to my knees.

“For a split second I couldn’t relate the noise from the bottle to me.

“I covered my eyes and they cut my face and my arm which I used the protect my eyes.

“I rolled onto my back to protect myself and I screamed as loud as I could. The adrenaline kicked and I didn’t feel pain anymore. I got to my feet and they legged it.

“At the time it’s about fighting for life.

“My actions were not brave. Sometimes it is brave to run but I couldn’t have run so I had to fight. They are cowards.”

The former engineer’s skin on the top of his skull had to be pulled together then glued. Mr Shuttleworth also had stitches to his right wrist and a deep cut from his nose down to his lip.

He said: “I lost a lot of blood. It was streaming down me by the time I had made it to the police station.

“My skull is really hurting and I think my ribs might to cracked. My skin heals quickly. The cut above my lip was almost split open in was that deep.”

Mohammed Younis, chairman of the Blackburn with Darwen Hackney Carriage Association, said drving a taxi in the area was getting ‘more dangerous day by day’.

He said: “In the 30 years I've been driving here, conditions have become considerably worse.

"I am receiving more and more complaints from my members about violent attacks.

“We get very few incidents with middle aged customers but the youngsters in the town cause lots of trouble for us."

Mohammed Arif, chairman of the Hyndburn Taxi Association, said: "The offenders of this crime must be dealt with severely by the police and the courts to stop attacks like this happening.

"These last few years have seen an increase in assaults on taxi drivers and it has become more dangerous for us in the town.

"In association with the council, CCTV cameras have been installed in around 14 cabs in our area. This is a step in the right direction but more still needs to be done."

• Police said three men, aged 19, 17 and 41, had been charged in connection with the incident.