An Anfield man has been jailed after a dispute over a £9.50 taxi fare left the driver with catastrophic head injuries and likely permanent sight loss in one eye.
Paul Pollard, 39, of Morecambe Street, admitted causing grievous bodily harm with intent at Liverpool Crown Court on Friday 2 October 2026. Recorder Anna Price sentenced him to six years and three months in prison, plus a three-year extended licence. He muttered about the sentence from the dock after it was passed.
How the attack unfolded
James Thompson, a taxi driver for 17 years, started work at 6am on 8 March 2026 and picked Pollard up from Longfield Road in Litherland at about 8.30am. The court heard Pollard was very drunk, slurred his words and carried a two-litre bottle of pre-mixed margarita. He asked to go to Coniston Street in Anfield, talked nonsense, then lay down in the back.
Near the destination Mr Thompson asked for directions and got no reply. He stopped, went to the boot, then shook Pollard awake. Asked for the £9.50 fare, Pollard mumbled and said he had no money. Mr Thompson pulled him out of the cab. There was a stand-off and an exchange of punches.
Prosecuting counsel Paul Becker told the court the prosecution did not dispute that Mr Thompson first hit Pollard with a wheel brace. Pollard then took the brace and struck Mr Thompson hard in the face. The judge later described the weapon as a steering lock produced by the driver.
Pollard walked away, dumped the brace and his coat, and was arrested nearby on Breck Road. Police found Mr Thompson in the middle of Thirlmere Road, bleeding from his eyes, ears and the back of his head.
Injuries
At Aintree Hospital he was found to have a bleed on the brain and fractures to his eye socket, jaw, cheekbone, skull and nose. His left eyeball was bulging; surgeons operated that morning over feared bleeding. He had further eye surgery five days later at the Royal Liverpool Hospital, then facial and skull reconstruction at the Walton Centre on 19 March.
He has not worked since and may need more reconstructive surgery. Consultants told the court he is likely to permanently lose sight in his left eye.
Previous taxi attack
Pollard has 13 previous convictions for 31 offences. In 2019 he was jailed for 10 years, with a four-year extended licence, after a knifepoint robbery on another taxi driver: he pulled a knife, demanded cash, punched the driver and dragged him from the car. He was on licence when he attacked Mr Thompson.
What the court said
Defence counsel Alex Langhorn said Pollard had not set out to cause harm, had a difficult background, had used custody productively and was ashamed. He said Pollard had been trying to reach his children and hoped to pay for the fare.
Recorder Price said the blow caused catastrophic injuries to someone providing a public service, that Pollard was drunk and on licence, and that Mr Thompson would permanently bear the after-effects. She accepted trauma in his background and that he was ashamed when sober in the dock.