A TAXI passenger who chased the driver down the street wielding an 18- inch machete is being hunted by police after he skipped bail.

The 37-year-old brandished the weapon at the terrified driver after an argument broke out over payment of a fare in Willows Lane, Deane, earlier this month.

The drunken passenger is understood to have refused to pay, instead asking the driver to come inside his house for “jiggy jiggy with wife”.

The fare was only £10, but was higher than normal because, after picking him up outside The Wellington pub in Bury New Road, the driver was given the wrong address by friends who helped the man into the taxi.

The attacker was arrested later that night on suspicion of affray, and was due to answer police bail on Thursday, but he did not turn up. Police are now searching for him.

The 38-year-old Metro taxi driver, who asked not to be named, was left feeling sick and shaken after his ordeal. He ran several blocks away from his would-be attacker before calling police.

The driver said: “I’m not surprised he’s done this.

When I found out he’d been bailed I half expected him to do a flit. This bloke needs to be caught.”

The drunken passenger, who is thought to be Polish, reacted furiously when the driver explained that sex with his wife would not be an acceptable payment.

He became aggressive and threatening, prompting the driver to press his panic button, and a number of Metro drivers quickly arrived on the scene.

The man shouted at them and hit their cars, before running into his house and emerging with the machete.