A MAN charged with robbery has been kept in custody ahead of an appearance at Crown Court next month.

Jason Warburton, 24, of Holt Road, Tranmere, is alleged to have threatened a taxi driver at knifepoint before stealing his car on Princes Road in the early hours of August 12.

He appeared before magistrates in Chester last Wednesday.

The taxi cab was later found abandoned nearby.

The taxi driver, a 59-year-old man from Ellesmere Port, was uninjured but shaken following the ordeal.

On Monday, August 15, detectives arrested Warburton and a 31-year-old Neston woman.

The woman was later released without charge.

Warburton, who had been released on licence from a six-year sentence for robbery just a week earlier, was charged with robbery, taking a vehicle without consent, disqualified driving, possession of a bladed article and resisting arrest.

Warburton was remanded in custody to appear at Chester Crown Court on September 26.