A TAXI driver whose vehicle was vandalised by a punter has warned that escalating violence in Bournemouth may result in the death of a cab driver.

Anita Whant, 36, of Boscombe, had to eject the man from her cab after he began having a furious row with his girlfriend.

Ross Trent, 20, of Wallisdown, then launched himself into the cab door causing over £1,000 of damage and putting it out of action for around three days, resulting in nearly £800 of lost takings from the cab, which Anita shares with her father.

She had collected a party of six from Toko's and was taking them home, she said.

"We got half way up the road and he started shouting at his girlfriend. I turned around and said: Shut up or get out'.

"He did shut up for a while. Then he started punching himself and punching the doors. I stopped the car and said: Out!' "He dragged his girlfriend with him. They were having chats and it was all very teary. They went a bit further down the road and then I saw him shaking his girlfriend. I jumped out and split them up with help from her friend.

"He launched himself into the cab door. We restrained him at that point."

Trent began to walk away but returned and attacked the cab again, said Anita.

"He kicked the front and side of the vehicle as I drove away."

Police were called and Trent was arrested.

Most of the female cabbies have taken self-defence classes due to the violence directed against drivers, added Anita. She took up kickboxing after her cab windows were smashed by drunken yobs and two female passengers injured by flying glass.

Violence is commonplace on the night shift and has got worse since the introduction of 24-hour drinking, she added, although ironically the longer opening hours have also boosted drivers' takings.

She said: "The town in general is getting worse for taxi drivers late at night. What I'm trying to get across is that this was not just a one-off isolated incident. People go out and get drunk and decide to take it out on the cars and the drivers. It's all getting a bit much.

She added: "It wasn't scary but it was unpleasant. There will come a time when a taxi driver will get murdered."

Magistrates told Trent he was responsible for all the damage to Anita's taxi, and handed down a conditional discharge of 12 months. He was ordered to pay £1,988 in compensation and prosecutors asked for £480 in costs.

Trent's mother told the court he had suffered a brain haemorrhage in 2005 and suffered memory problems as a result.

Anita was commended for her "social responsibility" by the magistrates.