A NOTORIOUS armed robber has been convicted of trying to rob a Colchester taxi driver.

Ashley Leech, 24, of no fixed address, phoned the PDQ cab company for a taxi to pick him up from Greenstead.

When it arrived, Leech and another man, one masked and the other armed, tried to rob the driver, demanding money and then repeatedly firing at the VW Passat cab with a BB gun, as it sped off.

Chelmsford Crown Court heard driver Thomas Partridge, a local cabbie for 12 years, escaped unhurt.

Five days after the attack, in Acacia Avenue at about 2am on December 1, last year, Leech was found hiding in a cardboard box in the loft of his mother’s house near The Hythe.

He was traced via the phone which had been used to call for the cab. Leech denied attempted robbery but was found guilty by a majority jury verdict of ten to two.

A balaclava, BB gun and ball bearings, similar to one found on the passenger seat of the taxi, has been found near Leech’s hiding place, the jury was told.

After he was found guilty, the court was told Leech had been released from prison weeks before the incident.

He had served time for a string of armed robberies and robbery attempts, all in the Colchester area.

He tried to rob three people with a knife in 2005 and robbed another person, using a knife in 2006. He was convicted of these offences in 2007 and jailed.

In 2010, he robbed a delivery driver with using a similar BB gun to that used in the cabbie attack.

A year later, he threatened a neighbour with the same binding, gagging and robbing the victim.

He was jailed for a total of seven years for the crimes in 2012, but allowed out early on licence in September 2014.

In the weeks after his release, the court heard Leech was seen with a gun and was said to have made plans to rob the One Stop off Hawthorn Avenue. He was also questioned on suspicion of several other offences.

Deferring sentence until next month, Judge David Turner QC said Leech should be considered dangerous.

Leech is already back in prison, having been recalled for previous offences, and is not due to be released until 2021.