POLICE are appealing for witnesses after a taxi driver was threatened with a knife.

Police say the man, who was wearing a black face mask, was sitting in the passenger seat of the vehicle when he threatened the driver and demanded him to hand over his cash.

It happened between 1pm and 1.30pm today, at the rear of the parade of shops in Wynyard Road, Hartlepool.

The suspect is described as being a white male aged 18/19 years old, 5 ft 6” tall with long curly dark hair and he was wearing black trousers, a black jumper and a black face mask.

He made off towards Catcote Road/ the Goldmine pub following the incident.

No money was stolen and the driver was uninjured.

Anyone with information regarding the suspect or anyone with dash cam footage from the time/area of the attempted robbery is asked to contact Cleveland Police on 101 quoting 178251.

Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously by phoning 0800 555 111 or online at www.crimestoppers-uk.org.