Taxi passenger who cheated death in horrifying machete attack is bling influencer who shows off images of himself dripping with jewels and high-end brands online

This is the taxi passenger who cheated death when he was stabbed by a machete-wielding gang in a horrifying attack caught on dash cam.

Bilal Charles was slashed in the face and arm by at least three knifemen, one of whom shattered a back seat cab window with a hammer to reach him.

Bilal - seen clutching a small knife in the footage - was heard pleading with the driver to speed off and was left bloodied and shaken following the early morning attack in Rainham, Essex, on June 23.

He goes by the name of Mr.Swipedat on Instagram where images show him dripping in bling, including diamond-encrusted watches, chains and even Grillz teeth caps, as well as showing off designer brands like Louis Vuitton.

Despite his brush with death, Bilal attended the British Silverstone Grand Prix on July 7, just over two weeks after the attack, and travelled to Amsterdam where he posted images of packets of marijuana.

Other images on his Instagram page show him posing with huge wads of money - including fanning himself with a bunch of £20 notes and holding a stash of cash that is as high as the bottle of Sprite he is gripping in his other hand.

A tattoo on his forearm reads ‘Fast Money’.

The terrifying attack on him was recorded by a rear-view dash camera from the cab he was travelling in.

The footage is timed at 5.10am on June 23 and saw Bilal dropped off with two other men.

Seconds after the three men left the cab, a Mercedes pulled up behind and at least three men jumped out.

A scuffle broke out as the taxi driver began to slowly reverse away. After about 10 seconds, Bilal who was wearing a light blue t-shirt and a beanie, suddenly pulled open the rear left door and jumped inside.

He was being pursued by an attacker wearing a black hoodie and a red mask, who smashed the taxi window with a hammer before another man - with his face also covered - stabbed him with a large knife.

The driver appeared to be frozen in terror, before moving away as Bilal wrestled his attackers off him.

With blood pooling on his shirt, Bilal inspected his injuries before, noticing the Mercedes was pursuing him.

He pleaded with the driver ‘drive fast, drive fast, uncle,' before promising to pay him for the damage to his car.

Bilal, who had a gash on his arm and over his right eye, phoned a friend to tell him he had been stabbed and then dialled 999 and told the operator: 'I need police, I'm getting followed by a car. They're following me, they tried to stab me.'

He eventually took himself to hospital after the incident. His injuries are not believed to be life-changing or threatening.

The incident came after official figures released yesterday showed Britain remains in the grip of a knife crime epidemic.

Some 50,510 offences were recorded in the 12 months to March 2024.

Attacks disproportionately affected young people, with teenagers in the UK now twice as likely to be fatally stabbed as they were 10 years ago.

Official statistics suggest knife crime has risen by 4 per cent in the last 12 months, but remains three per cent lower than the 51,982 offences reported in the year to March 2020.

Knife crime offences also increased year-on-year but remained below pre-pandemic levels.