Terrifying video shows an innocent London taxi driver being caught up in a brutal knife fight as masked machete-wielding attackers try to stab one of his passengers.
Footage has been shared on social media of the disturbing incident on Spencer Road in Rainham at 5.10am on June 23.
At the start of the footage, the taxi driver is seen waving goodbye to three jolly-looking men who had been riding in his cab before saying, ‘I’m going home now’.
Seconds after the trio leave the cab, a Mercedes pulls up behind and at least three men jump out.
A scuffle breaks out as the taxi driver begins to slowly reverse away. After about 10 seconds, one of the men who was previously in the cab – wearing a light blue t-shirt and a beanie – suddenly pulls open the rear left door and jumps inside.
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He is being pursued by an attacker wearing a black hoodie and a red mask, who smashes the taxi’s window with a hammer before another man – with his face also covered – stabs him with a large knife.
The terrified man inside the cab pleads ‘uncle, drive’ as he is repeatedly stabbed through both windows by the three attacks – with blood pooling on his shirt.
Several seconds follow where the driver appears to be frozen in terror, before he begins moving away while the stabbing victim wrestles his attackers off him.
The man inspects his injuries before, through the back window, he notices the Mercedes is now pursuing him.
‘Drive fast, drive fast, uncle,’ the man pleads to the driver, before promising to pay him for the damage to his car.
The victim has a gash on his arm and over his right eye, with blood smeared across his shirt.
‘They’re coming, are you going somewhere?’ the driver says, before asking, ‘Where are you going? Tell me where you’re going.’
‘Go right,’ the terrified passenger says, before begging him to go to the nearest police station.
The bleeding man – who is holding a knife in his left hand – picks up his phone and tells a friend he has been stabbed.
The taxi is now travelling at speed, with the Mercedes visible behind.
The man then hangs up and calls the police, telling the operator: ‘I need police, I’m getting followed by a car. They’re following me, they tried to stab me.’
‘What road you on,’ the operator asks – before the footage cuts out.
The man took himself to hospital after the incident. His injuries are not believed to be life-changing or threatening.
has contacted the Met Police for comment.
It comes after official figures released yesterday showed Britain remains in the grip of a knife crime epidemic.
Some 50,510 offences were recorded in the 12 months to March 2024.
Attacks disproportionately affected young people, with teenagers in the UK now twice as likely to be fatally stabbed as they were 10 years ago.
Official statistics suggest knife crime has risen by 4 per cent in the last 12 months, but remains three per cent lower than the 51,982 offences reported in the year to March 2020.
Knife crime offences also increased year-on-year but remained below pre-pandemic levels.