A TAXI driver told how he feared for his life when he was robbed by two teenagers armed with a machete and a dagger.

The self-employed cabbie was directed to a dead-end on a Middlesbrough estate before his passengers demanded his takings.

A back-seat passenger held the machete blade - which he thought was between 15 and 20 inches long - to the side of his neck.

The teenager yelled: "Give me all your f****** money, I want it all", prosecutor Martin Towers told Teesside Crown Court.

The driver suffered a cut hand when he grabbed the weapon, and said: "It scared the hell out of me. I thought I'd be killed."

One of the robbers, a 15-year-old, who cannot be named, was given an 18-month detention and training order earlier this year.

On Friday, the other, Dylan Frost had his sentence deferred after a judge heard of "good things" he has done since the incident.

Frost was just one day shy of his 18th birthday when he pleaded guilty to robbery - meaning he could dodge jail by hours.

He will have to be sentenced as a juvenile rather than under adult rules - which could have resulted in years behind bars.

Frost, of Parkview Road, Middlesbrough, will be back at court in March when he will be dealt with by Judge Deborah Sherwin.

The judge told him to behave for the next four months, keep his new job, continue his good work or face being locked up.

She said: “I've been impressed by what you have been doing. Carry on doing well and things will be all right, OK?”

The court heard that the driver ran and raised the alarm, as the raiders fled with £60, a phone and a credit card machine.

Mr Towers told Judge Sherwin that Frost’s DNA was found in the taxi and he finally admitted the robbery in July.

He had been in court the day before the robbery for theft, criminal damage and assaulting police, and for a referral order.

Mr Towers told the court: “Had he been a day older, the adult sentencing guidelines would have applied.

“That would have been a starting point of five years after a trial for an adult of good character.”

Judge Sherwin said she had to follow guidelines for children and young people stressing defendants’ welfare and rehabilitation.

She saw letters from Frost’s grandmother and his uncle who he was working with, both of whom were in court to support him.

Frost suffered serious head injuries in 2015, with reference made in court to “various problems arising from the accident”.

His barrister, Andrew Stranex, said he had not breached a 12-hour curfew since July and was working with mental health services.

Judge Sherwin said she regarded Frost as "young for his age" and was prepared to take "an exceptional course" with him.

“It’s something I’ve thought long and hard about,” said Judge Sherwin. " You are very much at risk of custody today.

“The only thing really that saves you is that you were 17 at the time of this.

“Since this time you’ve spent a few months doing a lot of good stuff turning your life around and I’ve been impressed by how well you’ve been doing.

“So much so that I’m prepared to give you a chance.”