down to a 26-year-old man who threatened to break a taxi driver's neck if he did not hand over his cash.

The three appeal judges agreed with the Crown there were "a number of aggravating factors'' which pushed the sentence Edward Fox received into the higher range.

Crown Counsel Mr. Stephen Harrison argued taxi drivers were especially vulnerable to robberies because of the nature of their job.

And he said Fox committed the crime while on bail for another offence and had physically wounded the 61-year-old taxi driver.

But Mr. Richard Hector, defending, said Fox wounded the taxi driver in self defence.

He said the cabby had begun beating Fox with a stick he found, prompting Fox to defend himself with his crash helmet.

He added: "The sentence should have been of such a nature to give my client -- at his age and with relatively few past convictions -- some hope he can pay his debt to society as quickly as possible and start over.'' Mr. Hector said three and a half years for assault with intent to rob was "manifestly excessive'' and the three years (concurrent) he received for attempted robbery was above the maximum penalty for that offence.

Mr. Harrison agreed the maximum penalty for attempted robbery was two years and the Supreme Court judge may have erred. But he said the 31 -year sentence should be upheld.

"Taxi drivers, unlike most of us, are less in a position to choose where they want to go at night and are obliged to pick up members of the public and take them where they want to go,'' he said.

He added the taxi driver had received a gash over his eye requiring stitches when Fox hit him with his helmet.

The Court of Appeal judges heard the taxi driver picked up Fox at about midnight last October on Bermudiana Road. He was directed to a darkened side road off Woodbourne Avenue where Fox grabbed him from behind in a choke hold and demanded his wallet.

When the driver managed to get hold of a stick, Fox grabbed his helmet, beat him in the face and bolted.

Fox, who pleaded guilty in February to assaulting the taxi driver with intent to rob him and attempted robbery, admitted he was a cocaine addict and said at the time he was desperate for money to buy the drug.

Court of Appeal president the Hon. Sir Harvey Da Costa upheld the 31 -year sentence, but shortened the three-year sentence to two years.

However, as the sentences were ordered to run concurrently the ruling made no difference to Fox, who must still serve three and a half years.