Police have released CCTV images of two men they wanted in connection with the robbery of a black cab which was later torched.
At around 6.50pm on August 1, a taxi driver picked up two drunk men near to the Eccles Cross pub, in Regent Street, and drove towards Salford Precinct.
One of the men told the driver to turn onto Victoria Road and then demanded he stop. Both offenders got out of the cab and one opened the driver’s seat and dragged him out.
The two offenders then stole the drivers cash and mobile phone before driving off in the cab, which was later found abandoned and burnt out in Lower Kersal.
The first man is described as white, about 6ft tall, 20 or 30 years old, of a slim to medium build and wearing a beige baseball cap and a blue and white hooded Adidas top.
The other man was described as about 20 or 30 years old, of a fat or chubby build and wearing a black shorts and a blue and white Echo top.
Police Constable Mark Cole, from the Robbery Unit at Swinton Police Station, said: “These two men were tanked up on booze when they got into this taxi, and then subjected the driver to a frightening ordeal before stealing the cab and torching it.
“Taxi drivers face these sorts of dangers every day, particularly when picking up passengers who have had a lot to drink, and we must take a zero tolerance approach to people who behave in this appalling manner and make examples of them so drivers can go about their job in peace.
“I would appeal to anyone who saw these men drinking in Eccles before they got into the cab, or perhaps recognises who they are, to come forward so we can take positive action.”
Anyone with information is asked to call the Robbery Unit at Swinton Police Station on: 0161 856 5252 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on: 0800 555 111.