
A Cardiff taxi driver was left terrified and fighting panic after a passenger entered his cab carrying a 30cm claw hammer during an early morning shift.
Cardiff Crown Court heard that Cameron Bennett, 22, boarded the vehicle in the Ely area of the city on Sunday, February 15, holding the weapon in his hand.
During the journey to the city centre, the driver kept his focus on calming the erratic passenger down.
The court was told Bennett climbed unbelted from the front passenger seat into the rear while the car was still moving, jumping around from side to side. The driver later recalled feeling an "increased feeling of panic" and feared he would be threatened or assaulted with the weapon, though no direct threats were made.
Keen to end the tense journey safely, the driver dropped Bennett off near a busy area at Queen Street and John Street at 5.10am, telling him he had another booking to take.
As Bennett stepped out and attempted to enter another cab, the alert driver gestured to his colleague not to pick him up.
With fortune on his side, the driver flagged down passing police officers, gave them a description of a third taxi Bennett managed to board, and handed over a mobile phone the passenger had left behind.
Bennett, from Cardiff, appeared at Cardiff Crown Court for sentencing having pleaded guilty to possession of an offensive weapon in a public place and possessing a bladed article.
Recorder Robin Rouch said that the driver's perception caused him real distress and jailed Bennett for 314 days.

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