A TEENAGER has been locked up for four years for trying to rob a cabbie and slashing his throat with a crushed drinks can.

Jamie Lee Morgan, 18, was a passenger in the cab when he attacked the driver in Roger Street, Treboeth, Swansea, just before 3am on March 21.

He grabbed the driver and demanded money.

His victim, 54-year-old Lynn James Johns, suffered a serious throat injury in the assault.

He later required 25 stitches in hospital.

Morgan, of Llangyfelach Road, Treboeth, was sentenced at Swansea Crown Court to a total of four years detention in a young offenders institution.

At an earlier court hearing he had pleaded guilty to attempting to rob the taxi driver and unlawful wounding.

Speaking to the Post following the attack, Mr Johns described how he had put his hand to his throat and found it covered in blood.

"I looked in the mirror and there was a big, gaping wound across my throat," he said.

Slashing

The slashing of the Yellow Cabs driver prompted company boss Wayne Harris to say he was considering installing CCTV cameras in his taxis because of the level of threats and violence against staff.

He said: "We are providing a service to the public, and we don't deserve all these problems.

"It's a sad world we are living in."

He said anyone found guilty of crimes against drivers should be banned from using taxis or private hire cars.

"You can be banned from pubs and clubs," he said.

"But if you are convicted of a serious assault on a taxi driver, you can phone for a car from jail and get picked up and do the same again."

jason.evans@swwmedia.co.uk