A TAXI driver left terrified after his prized cab was hijacked by two men has spoken out about his ordeal.

Dave Buck recounted his harrowing story in the week that James Shaw was sentenced to two-and-a-half years behind bars for his involvement in the crime.

The other man threatened Mr Buck with a screwdriver before the pair sped away in the taxi driver's Skoda Octavia.

"It was all a bit of a dream, really," said Mr Buck. "I was in a state of shock. It took a day or two for the severity of it to properly hit me.

"Nobody knows how you are going to react. It just happened out of the blue and you have got no defence mechanism."

Mr Buck, 52, was called to an unfamiliar residential address on Rinkfield, Kendal, on December 19 but thought nothing of it as there was an increase in trade over the festive period.

However, once he arrived at the address he was told to 'get out of the car now' by a man holding a large flat-bladed screwdriver.

"All I was focused on was this screwdriver," he said. "All I could think about was my little boy."

During Shaw's hearing, the court heard that Mr Buck got out of his car but attempted to go back to collect his mobile phone.

Prosecutor Tim Evans said: "He was fearful for his safety and did do that. The male snatched the phone from him, got in the taxi and they sped towards Natland Road."

Mr Buck was left to seek the help of a passing stranger and his vandalised £6,000 taxi, which he had only had for six weeks, was eventually located in Windermere.

Shaw, 23 of Longlands View, Kendal, was later picked out by the victim during an identity parade. He made no comment in a police interview but later admitted his guilt.

Mr Buck was working for Jez's Taxis for less than two years at the time of the incident, having chosen to leave his job as a welder fabricator to work as a taxi driver.

Although Shaw has been sentenced for robbery, the man who threatened Mr Buck with the screwdriver has yet to face justice. Shaw was said to have played a "secondary" role in the crime.

"He took part by his presence. He did take part in it and recognises that. He recognises that it would have been upsetting for the taxi driver, losing his vehicle in such circumstances," said Mr Evans. "Other than his presence his contribution towards the offence was negligible. He deeply regrets that he did get involved."

The conviction has brought some relief to Mr Buck, who has lived in the Kendal area all his life, but says his mental state has severely suffered since the incident.

"I was not sleeping," he said. "I could not escape the actual event. It was going over and over and over again in my head."

He has now returned to work, choosing to set up his own company and stating that he had 'no other option' as he needed to provide for his partner of 25 years and his eight-year-old son, who he lives with in Mill Cottage, Oxenholme.

"Probably the hardest thing I have ever done was getting back in the car and sitting on the taxi rank," he said. "For the first month or so I was scanning everyone that came towards me."

Mr Buck said that without the help of the police, his family and his friends, he would not have been able to go back to work.

"I have been overwhelmed with the amount of support," he said.

Hardeep Burnley, South Lakeland District Council's principal environmental health officer for food, safety and licensing, was involved in a campaign last December which encouraged taxi drivers to report incidents of abuse to the police.

"It's appalling what's happened to David Buck and we are glad he's got some justice," she said. "We hear of people running off and not paying their fare but this is the first hijack we have heard of."

But, despite the 'horrible' experience that Mr Buck has had to go through, he maintains that he still enjoys his job and is glad that he made the career switch.

"I was not happy where I was," he said. "It was time to move on and I got into this and I have not looked back.

"I enjoy driving and I enjoy talking to people - even after what's happened. The people on the whole are pretty sound."