A TEENAGER who terrified a taxi driver with an ornamental sword and attempted to rob him has been locked up for two-and-a-half years.

Michael Bailey, 18, of Keeble Road, Bournemouth, cut two eye holes into a hat and pulled it over his face, and armed himself with the sword and an axe before waiting in the dark for the taxi driver to arrive, the court heard.

Eleanor Davies, prosecuting in the case at Bournemouth Crown Court, said the call-back system, which usually lets people know their taxi has arrived, failed to work when the driver attended a call at The Broadway in Kinson in the early hours of the morning on March 13.

She said: "He got out of his car to go and ring the doorbell.

"A male who looked to him to be wearing a balaclava approached him and said 'hand over the money.'

"In his hands, which were crossed across his chest, were a knife and what he thought was a machete. It turned out to be an ornate knife and a wood axe of some description.

"He (the taxi driver) said he felt scared and threatened."

The court heard the victim managed to flag down a passing police car and though the defendant fled, police found the sword and a balaclava and later apprehended Bailey.

Bailey initially denied any involvement but later made a full admission to police and pleaded guilty to attempted robbery at the earliest opportunity.

Paul Hester, defending, said that though Bailey had consumed some alcohol on the night of the offence, he had failed to put forward an explanation for his behaviour.

He said: "The only reason one can put forward is that unfortunately he left school without taking any examinations, with no formal qualifications and was unable to find a job.

"His friends have moved on in their lives and he has stayed still.

"The word 'isolated' appears a number of times."

Sentencing Bailey to two-and-a-half years in a young offenders' institution, Judge Samuel Wiggs told Bailey: "There is nothing in your background which gives you any excuse.

"It must have been intended - it was extremely frightening for the taxi driver."