TAXI drivers in Blackburn say that it is lucky nobody has been killed after a spate of incidents where their vehicles have been attacked.

The latest incident in which a moving vehicle was bricked is said to have happened in the Griffin area of Blackburn , near Curzon Place, on Tuesday evening Cabbies say attacks have risen in recent days with bricks now being thrown at their vehicles and the images of the latest incident have been shared with the Lancashire Telegraph.

However, police have said that since the start of the year they have received six reports of youths throwing stones at taxi vehicles and of those two had resulted in damage.

In November drivers blocked roads on Accrington Road in protest at what they described as relentless attacks and called for better protection for drivers.

Former councillor Muntazir Patel a taxi-driver himself, said: “We are always ringing police again and again and all we get is just a crime reference number. There are no consequences for the people who do this.

“These attacks are costing us our livelihoods and we need to feed our families at the end of the day."

Mr Patel said attacking moving vehicles didn’t just present safety risks to drivers and passengers, but pedestrians too.

“It’s a wonder nobody has been killed," he said.

“These incidents are completely unacceptable and there is a lot of anger and frustration among drivers and we want the authorities to put long-term problem-solving measures in place to tackle the issues.

“We, the drivers, are now ready to take further action.”

Mr Patel said cabbies wanted to temporarily get rid of labels on taxis so they are no longer a target.

He said: “Most taxis now send texts or in-app messages to customers with the car’s registration, meaning the stickers are no longer necessary to distinguish them and an ordinary car. It is clear that we get targeted.”

Sgt Steve Dundon, from the Blackburn neighbourhood policing team, said: "The police are in contact with the driver concerned to investigate the circumstances behind this particular incident.

"Our key message to people is to report incidents to us so we can investigate.

"We will act on that information and step up our ongoing patrols to identify those responsible."

To report incidents call police on 101 or 999 in an emergency.