Man jailed for taxi driver knifepoint robbery

Sheward was sentenced on Tuesday at Worcester Crown Court

A man who threatened a taxi driver at knifepoint in Worcester has been jailed for seven years and four months.

Police said Paul Sheward, 38, and an accomplice attacked the driver on Foxwell Street on 13 September 2024 at about 19:00 BST, wrongly believing he had drugs in the car.

The sentence was handed down at Worcester Crown Court on Tuesday.

Sheward, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty at a previous hearing to robbery and two counts of possession of a bladed article in a public place.

The West Mercia force said, after being threatened with the knife, the driver handed over about £100 cash and a mobile phone to Sheward, who fled the scene on foot.

Officers found discarded shopping at the scene, which led them to check CCTV at a Tesco store on London Road.

Footage from the shop's cameras showed a man matching the attacker's description, after which Sheward was positively identified.

He was arrested on 16 September 2024 and found with a knife on him — leading to a further charge for being in possession of a bladed article.

Det Con Cameron Chamberlain described the robbery as "cowardly" and said: "Violent offenders and bladed articles have no place in our communities.

"This court result shows we will always seek to prosecute those committing such offences and bring them to justice."