A £1,000 reward has been offered in a bid to catch the attacker who strangled and torched a Hampshire cabbie.

Taxi driver Derek Fletcher was left for dead following a late-night attack in which he was throttled and set alight in his cab on Monday.

The vicious attack has caused outrage among the taxi community and now one local businessman, who wants to remain anonymous, has offered the reward for information leading directly to the identification and conviction of the offender.

Mr Fletcher, from Sholing, Southampton, was working his shift for Eastleigh taxi firm Happy Cabs when he picked up a fare from a phone box in Southampton Road, Eastleigh, at around 2.30am.

As the car passed under the M27 bridge in Stoneham Lane, the assailant wrapped a rope around the 52-year-old's neck and pulled it tight until he passed out.

The attacker then poured accelerant on to the married driver's lap and set him alight before running off.

The attack has left Mr Fletcher with serious burns to the lower left of his body and he is currently being treated at the specialist burns unit at Salisbury District Hospital.

Detective Inspector Stuart Murray, said: "My team are continuing to work tirelessly on this investigation and we hope that the very kind offer of a reward will encourage anyone who has information about the identity of the attacker to come forward.

"We also are particularly keen to speak to any motorists who may have been driving along Stoneham Lane past the Concorde Club towards junction five of the M27 between 2am and 4am and urge them to come forward.

"This was an extremely nasty incident in which the victim could have been killed. We are doing everything we can to find the person responsible but we need the public to help us.

"Somebody must know who did this. We urge anyone who does to call us. All information will be handled very sensitively. Any information, no matter how small, could be vital to us."

Anyone with any information should call the Operation Seymour incident room at Hedge End CID on 0845 045 4545 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.