Ishfaq Hussain, 38, was left with serious facial injuries after the assault when he was picking up a fare in Kingswinford.

The father-of-four, from Brierley Hill, picked up a woman in Kidderminster Road at about 10.30pm on Saturday. The female passenger jumped into his taxi but was closely followed by a man, who attacked Mr Hussain as he went to drive off. Shaz Saleem, the chairman of the Dudley Private Hire Taxi Association, said:

"A woman jumped in to his taxi and said 'let's go, let's go'. Then as he set the car up to move within 10 seconds a guy came and said 'where do you think you're going' then they next thing he got punched.

"He can't remember anything after that. His vision has been affected which is the worrying thing at the moment – especially as it's one of the most important things for his work.

"He's been told he can't drive for the immediate future and there's no timescale on it, so that's a big concern."

Mr Hussain was taken to Russells Hall Hospital and was discharged the next day – but is still waiting to discover the severity of his injuries. A West Midlands Police spokesman said:

“Police were alerted at around 10.30pm on 8 July to an assault on a taxi driver in Kidderminster Road, Kingswinford.

“It’s understood a woman was trying to leave the scene of a domestic argument – and when her partner tried to pull her from the taxi a fight broke out between the man and the driver. Enquiries are underway to trace the offender.”