THE MAN who stabbed taxidriver Mohammed Mahroof had been released from prison just four days beforehand, a court heard today.

Mohammed Mahroof Mustafa, 21 had been released on licence after serving a sentence for attempted robbery.

His licence terms said he should have been staying at a hostel in Straight Road, Windsor, and he breached those terms after staying at his brother's house the previous night.

Reading Crown Court heard that earlier in the day of the robbery, May 8 last year, Mustafa had been to a barbers to get his hair cut and had run away after hearing the police were on their way to arrest him for being in breach of his licence conditions.

Mustafa also told the court the plan to rob a taxi driver was made along with his co-defendant Asif Ahram Mohammed, 26, in Rye park in High Wycombe.

Mustafa said he was feeling "big headed" and "confident" about carrying out the robbery after he and Mohammed had been drinking in the park.

The pair of them agreed to get a knife to use in the robbery from Mohammed's house in Roberts Road, with a discussion taking place on their way there as to who would threaten someone with the knife.

It was on the way back to the Rye they decided to rob a taxidriver as Mohammed suggested they would be able to steal between three and four hundred pounds.

Mustafa said: "We were talking about what we were going to do but not who was going to do it. I was being big headed and said I would do it."

Mustafa agreed to carry the knife in his jeans pocket even though the journey from Roberts Road to the Rye would take him past High Wycombe police station. He and Mohammed made no effort to find an alternative route.

Mustafa said the knife was only to be used to threaten their victim and the whole incident was "a robbery that went wrong".

He said Mohammed's role in the incident was to act as a lookout while the robbery was committed.

Mustafa later called the police to hand himself in. During his 999 call he said: "I want to confess to another crime."

Police arrested him on suspicion of murder. When he heard what he was being charged with Mustafa said: "Did he die? Is it a murder charge now?"

Both men deny murder. The trial continues.