THE trial of a Ruislip 18-year-old accused of causing grievous bodily harm to a minicab driver is set to start next week.
Anthony Panayi, of Mead Way, denies assaulting the cabby on March 19 last year. Father-of-two Muhsin Akhtar was left in a coma for more than two months.
Prosecutors had originally charged five local teenagers with attempted murder, as it was thought unlikely that Mr Akhtar, from south London, would survive his severe head injuries.
But the minicab driver awoke from his coma in June and the charge was downgraded. Cases against four of the accused were dropped entirely.
The group of young men had been on a night out in central London and had just completed their journey home when the attack occurred in Bridgwater Road.
Mr Panayi will now stand trial alone from Monday, January 9 at the Old Bailey. It is expected to last for seven days.
The teenager denied the charge at a hearing last July.
