A TEENAGER has been jailed for life and a 16-year-old sentenced to three years for stabbing a taxi driver repeatedly in the head during a racist attack.

Ashley Entwistle, aged 19, and Tommy Dawson lured Ajiab Khan to an empty house and ordered him to drive them to a secluded part of Bolton.

The court heard the pair had planned to rob an Asian taxi driver for money to buy drugs.

Entwistle was armed with a seven inch carving knife with a serrated edge which was described in court as "fearsome".

During the attack, which lasted about a minute, Mr Khan was stabbed at least seven times in the neck, cheek and head.

The father-of-six, who worked for Bank Street Private Hire, and lives in Great Lever, also suffered deep cuts to his hand when he tried to defend himself.

The court heard the attack only ended when part of the knife snapped. The two teenagers fled empty-handed.

Afterwards, Mr Khan, aged 49, managed to drive himself to the Royal Bolton Hospital where he needed two litres of blood.

The Bolton Evening News successfully applied to lift an order banning the publication of Dawson's identity. The court agreed because of the seriousness of the offence.

Entwistle, from Barchester Avenue, Breightmet, and Dawson from Romiley Drive, Breightmet, pleaded guilty to unlawful wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm on April 20 and were sentenced yesterday at Bolton Crown Court.

Her Honour Judge Ruaux said it was a "truly dreadful crime".

She added: "Mr Khan was working to support his family and minding his own business when you lured him to an empty house because you wanted to rob an Asian taxi driver.

"He has not been able to return to work and and probably never will. Had Mr Khan not gone to the hospital so quickly, he may not have survived."

Sentencing Entwistle, she said: "You are a very dangerous young man from which the public needs to be protected."

Turning to Dawson, the judge added: "Mr Khan was chosen because of his race and you went along with that.

"You left the house knowing that Entwistle was armed with a knife and was unpredictable." Mr Philip Curran, prosecuting, said the two teenagers had been with a group of friends at a house in Breightmet when Entwistle said he wanted to rob an Asian taxi driver. He wanted someone to accompany him and Dawson agreed.

The court heard they had both been drinking and Entwistle had been snorting cocaine.

When Mr Khan arrived in Barchester Avenue at about 4am, he saw that the house he was called to was empty, but Entwistle and Dawson were waiting nearby.

The teenagers asked the driver to take them to an industrial estate off Red Bridge Lane and then attacked him. Entwistle later bragged to his friends about the attack and the fact it was featured in the Bolton Evening News.

Mr Paul Andrews, defending, said that Entwistle's parents had divorced when he was young and three weeks after he made contact with his father John again, his father murdered his second wife and then killed himself by crashing into the wall surrounding Manchester United footballer Ryan Giggs' house on the Blackrod-Adlington border.

He added: "The way it has affected him cannot be calculated.

Entwistle had a previous conviction for wounding and was jailed for life under the "two strikes and out" rule. He must serve at least three years before he is eligible for parole.

His lengthy criminal record also includes convictions for burglary, possession of an offensive weapon and arson.

Det Sgt Brian Langrish, of Astley Bridge CID, said: "This was an horrific assault which, had the knife not broken, could have been far more serious.

"The driver was only doing his job and trying to earn a living, when these two men viciously attacked him because of his race.

"Racist behaviour should never be tolerated and the public response to help us catch the attackers and the severity of their sentences is testament to that."