A man who attacked a Blackburn taxi driver while making off without payment has been jailed for three and a half years after a jury rejected his courtroom claims about the cabbie.
Lancs Live reports Lucas Simpson, 21, of Accrington, ordered a cab to Darwen with his girlfriend on 16 July 2024, then walked off promising to pay. When the driver followed, Simpson swung beer bottles, smashed one on the driver’s head and left a permanent eyebrow scar. He admitted making off without payment but claimed at Preston Crown Court the driver had got too close to his girlfriend; jurors convicted wounding with intent. Judge Robert Altham called that a “wicked lie” about an innocent man seeking only his fare.