MINICAB drivers could stop picking up from some clubs.

That's the warning from the head of Swindon Drivers' Association after a minicab driver was slashed by a clubber in the early hours.

The 40-year-old was stabbed in the torso and leg on Saturday morning by a man he had picked up from outside Suju nightclub minutes earlier. Detectives described the assault as an "unprovoked attack on someone who was simply doing his job", but said the man's injuries were not as serious as they could have been.

Following the attack, drivers in the town said the attack had left the worried.

Rana Khan of the Swindon Drivers’ Association added: “We want to provide the service in the mornings but everyone’s a little apprehensive about this now because this has happened. The CCTV is so expensive to put in.

“If this keeps happening the possibility is we don’t pick up from certain places.

“Drivers are worried about it, obviously. We’ve got to make a living and put food on the table.”

Andy Lucas, of the Swindon Taxi Association, which represents those who drive hackney carriages, pointed to a rise in violence nationally: “Drivers are very vulnerable when they’re going out late at night to deserted housing estates and streets with very little protection.

“Due to the nature of the time and location it would be very difficult to get an effective response from the police in sufficient time.”

Anyone who witnessed the Dawlish Road stabbing or has information about those responsible should call Wiltshire Police on 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.