UP TO 50 drunken yobs have brought chaos to a quiet Hampshire housing estate.

And in one attack in Boyatt Wood the mob surrounded a taxi, punched the passenger in the face and smashed up the car.

It is the latest in a string of drunken and violent incidents involving large groups of teenagers across Hampshire.

Earlier this week it was revealed that thugs tried to hijack the Mayor of Southampton's limousine.

A group of young people flagged down the chauffeured black Mercedes in Lordshill Way, Southampton, while it was carrying Sheriff Harry Mitchell and his wife June.

Last month police launched a crackdown on teenage drinkers in Chandler's Ford when they report edup to 30 youngsters to their parents for under age drinking in the street.

And last week it was revealed that in a trading standards crackdown in Southampton up to 70 per cent of off licences targeted sold booze to youngsters under 18 years old.

Now at the weekend taxi driver Glenn Herbert, 37, and passenger David Atkinson, 48, were forced out of a cab after a beer can was thrown into the side of the vehicle and another hooligan smashed his motorbike into the back of it.

The mob of boys and girls aged between 16 and 21 surrounded the hackney carriage shortly after it had picked up Mr Atkinson.

Mr Herbert said he and Mr Atkinson had feared for their safety during the confrontation.

He said: "We were absolutely petrified. There was 40 to 50 of them and we realised that if we didn't get back into the vehicle pretty smartish we would get mutilated."

It happened in Launceston Drive at around 9.30pm on Saturday, causing more than £1,000 damage to the cab.

Mr Herbert was leaving Barrington Close, where he had picked up regular passenger Mr Atkinson, when he saw a group of 40 to 50 young people standing in the middle of the road.

"It looked as if they were going to let me through,'' he said. ''I started to drive when I heard a big bang, which was a beer can which had been thrown at the side of the car. I stopped and then a motorbike ran into the back of me."

Mr Herbert said both he and his passenger got out of the taxi when the motorbike rider started screaming and demanding to know why the taxi driver had stopped.

"The rider then kicked one of the car's back lights.

"I got back into the car to radio through to get the police. The chap then ripped the mirror off and by that time someone had kicked the front wing and put a dent in it."

Mr Herbert said his passenger was punched in the face. After the taxi pulled away it was hit by a concrete block.

Mr Atkinson said: "It was quite frightening really. It turned into a very nasty situation.

"Even when we were in the car I was just hoping that the door locks would hold and the windows wouldn't smash."

Information to Eastleigh police on 0845 045 4545.