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Knife attack on 'superhero' cabbie
A taxi driver whose hand was slashed as he tried to stop a robber stabbing him has been hailed a "superhero".
The New City Taxis driver, who is in his 40s, snapped the knife in two as he struggled with his attacker.
It is the third attack on a taxi driver in the city in two weeks, but police stressed the robbery was not being linked to others.
The Preston dad went to a pick-up at the Bridge Inn on London Road, Walton-le-Dale, near Preston, at 2.20am on Friday.
When he got there he was approached by a man in dark clothes and a blonde haired teenage girl. The driver was threatened with the knife and struggled to defend himself.
The two offenders ran off over the footbridge and onto Broadgate after the attack.
Two men, aged 19 and 22, and a girl aged 17, all from Preston, were later arrested at Asda in Fulwood and are being questioned by detectives in South Ribble.
Det Insp Keith Lee, of Preston Police, said: "We don't want drivers to fear for their safety as we believe it is an isolated incident."
Det Sgt John Cass added: "We believe the three people arrested outside Asda in Fulwood were taken there by another vehicle, possibly a taxi or a private hire, after and we are asking for anyone who have dropped them off around 3am to come forward."
Martin Barker, radio operator for New City Taxis, said: "Our driver showed outstanding bravery. He is very shaken, particularly as he was thinking about his children, but he just went into superhero mode."
The attack is the latest of a spate of assaults on cabbies across Lancashire in recent months.
Ribbleton Taxis driver Hassan Khan, 37, was threatened by two thugs armed with knives as he waited at 11.45pm on Wednesday in Sycamore Road, Ribbleton.
Another taxi driver had a knife held to his throat by three masked men in Lynn Drive, Ribbleton at 9.15pm on November 2.
_________________ Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that. George Carlin
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