Why Leeds taxi drivers are staging a mass protest outside Elland Road Police Station today

The drivers are protesting against West Yorkshire Police's 'inaction' on youths who they say are throwing stones at their vehicles in what are "racially-motivated" attacks.

Many drivers say they have had objects such as stones and even breeze blocks thrown at their vehicles, sometimes when there is also a passenger inside.

Asif Afzal, a self-employed taxi driver from Leeds, said police were not doing enough to prevent the attacks, adding that it was "a wonder nobody has been killed yet".

"There are all sorts of horror stories. I know of one lad who had a breeze block thrown through his window while a customer was inside and he had to swerve, nearly hitting two pedestrians.

"It's a wonder nobody has been killed.

"These attacks are not just dangerous for the drivers, they are dangerous for passengers, too, and even pedestrians.

"Youths are targeting taxi drivers. Everyone knows that a lot of taxi drivers are of a certain ethnicity - Asian men - we are seeing more and more of these attacks on estates where the young people are mainly white, such as East End and Bramley."

The protest will take place outside West Yorkshire Police's Leeds headquarters at Elland Road at 11am.

Asif added: "This is our opportunity to say, 'enough is enough'. We're talking about people's safety here."