BOLTON taxi and private hire drivers threatened an all-out strike after the racist murder of a Bury taxi driver.

Father-of-four Tariq Javed, aged 48, died minutes after he was set upon in Alder Avenue, Bury, just before 6pm on Thursday.

And on Saturday, as detectives continued to interview three people -- including a 15-year-old boy -- in connection with Mr Javed's death, a GMP spokesman said: "We're treating this incident as a racist murder."

A meeting was being held in Bolton with more than 70 taxis expected to form a convoy to Bury town centre blockading the town.

The strike is expected to last until 6am Monday and people intending to visit pubs and clubs in Bolton town centre this weekendt are being warned to stay away.

Hundreds of taxi and private hire drivers descended on Bury town centre in two separate demonstrations yesterday to vent their anger at Mr Javed's death.

They included up to 70 private hire drivers from the Bolton area who joined the protest late last night.

Police marshalled a protest earlier in the day which included young Asians chanting "We want justice" while up to 100 taxis toured the streets, gridlocking the town centre.

Organisers said they were campaigning on behalf of the safety of all private hire and taxi drivers in the area.

It is understood that Mr Javed died shortly after being badly beaten in the road which runs alongside the M66 at Fairfield.

His private hire Toyota Caring car was torched in the grounds of the nearby Fairfield Hospital.

The dead man had worked for Peel Taxis, of Bury Lane, Bury, for about five months, having worked for other local taxi firms in the past four years.

It is believed he had been due to collect a passenger from the Mason's Arms in Walmersley Old Road, but he failed to turn up.

Soon after there were reports from a witness saying that a taxi driver was being attacked in the Fairfield area.

Yesterday a Home Office pathologist conducted a post mortem examination as detectives continued to interview the three people who had been arrested - two male juveniles aged 15 and 16 and a man, aged 30. A fourth man is believed to be wanted by detectives in connection with the investigation.

The demonstration yesterday afternoon brought rush-hour chaos to Bury town centre. And last night up to 70 private hire drivers from Bolton joined a second protest in the Haymarket, Bury, calling for improved police protection for cabbies.

A large number of police officers were on duty in Bury town centre throughout the night and fights were reported throughout the centre of the town. An 18-year-old student was attacked at the Bury Interchange and was taken unconscious to Bury General Hospital. He was still detained earlier today.