A KNIFE-wielding thief who bit off part of a taxi driver's ear during a bungled robbery has been jailed for 13 years.

Michael Cook, 35, of Ilford Lane, Ilford, first held a blade to the driver's neck and demanded his takings on March 25 last year.

But Watford cabbie Ian Stuart resisted and in the struggle that followed had his ear completely severed after Cook plunged his teeth into it.

Cook was sentenced at St Albans Crown Court on Thursday having been found guilty by a jury in December of attempting to rob the driver, inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent and possessing an offensive weapon.