CCTV protection call from Nottingham taxi drivers
A community action group is calling for thousands of CCTV cameras to be installed in Nottingham taxis to prevent attacks on drivers.
Nottingham Citizens is appealing for an allocation of £90,000 to fund the cameras.
A survey of 130 taxi drivers over a week in October found reports of 1,900 abusive or insulting passengers with 166 assaults, the group said.
The survey also recorded 1,400 threats and 180 damaged vehicles.
One taxi driver, Nassar Ahmed, said he had been hit and beaten by two passengers.
"Two chaps approached me and started hitting me and punching me - I got a busted lip and nose and went into hospital," he said.
'Car was destroyed'
Another driver, Ali Ibrahim, said: "It was so scary. One hit my face and smashed face. They got weapons like ball bats and golf sticks and hammered the car.
"The car was destroyed - all the glass front and back."
Community organiser George Gabriel, of Nottingham Citizens, said: "I was horrified by what we found.
"Nottingham is as safe a city as it has been for 10 years, but there are still pockets of the city which are unsafe and one of them is the night-time economy.
"Our proposal is for the new police commissioner to put £90,000 in match funding to provide CCTV in taxis throughout the city."
Private hire taxi firm DG Cars has already installed 300 CCTV cameras in its fleet of 450 cars.
Nottingham Citizens is a branch of UK Citizens, which has members representing faith groups, universities, colleges, schools, trade unions, and community groups.
Nottingham Police was not available for comment.