A DENTIST who rushed to taxi driver Mohammed Mahroof's aid thought he was witnessing a university prank - after spotting his blood-soaked figure stumbling towards the road, a murder trial was told.

Mr Mahroof was lured to The Rye in High Wycombe last May, by two men posing as customers. They had planned to rob him and later stabbed him with a serrated kitchen knife Reading Crown Court heard.

The dentist, Daljit Singh Sohal was working in High Wycombe on Tuesday, May 8 last year and was driving home via Abbey Way when he saw Mr Mahroof staggering and clutching his neck.

Mr Sohal told the court how he first thought Mr Mahroof was covered in red paint as part of a university stunt.

"When I went closer I noticed it was actually real. I saw blood and that's when the alarm bells rang," he added.

At first glance Mr Sohal thought he could see the knife handle still protruding from Mr Mahroof's neck, but told the court he could not "guarantee" this as he had seen it from a distance.

He pulled over and ran to where Mr Mahroof had fallen.

He said: "As I was running I took off my jacket. That was quite stiff so I took my jumper off and rolled that up. I saw the blood pouring from his neck and just put pressure on. It was actually spurting quite a distance."

He added: "He was still conscious and looking up and grabbing hold of me.

"He was alert enough but just couldn't bring any words up because he was bleeding everywhere."

The knife was later recovered after it was spotted lying close to Mr Mahroof.

Several other motorists pulled over to help including members of St John Ambulance who had just attended a meeting.

One of them, John Leeser, tried to administer oxygen to Mr Mahroof using a bag and mask before ambulance crews arrived to take over.

He was taken to Wycombe Hospital just yards away but died a few minutes later.