Police are looking for a man who assaulted a Hamilton taxi driver early yesterday.

The Blue Line driver, 34, was punched after picking up three men near Hess Village after 3 a.m., said Hamilton police Sergeant Terri-Lynn Collings. Collings said the driver recognized a passenger from a previous altercation.

When his fare instructed him to drive to the area of Cootes Drive and York Street in west Hamilton, police said the driver felt uncomfortable and told them he was going to drop them off at Main Street West and Cootes.

"This caused the fare to become angered and prompted a passenger in the back seat to punch (the driver) in the back of the head," said Collings.

Police are looking for three white males in their 20s. The suspect alleged to have punched the driver has curly blond hair and was wearing long brown shorts and a white T-shirt.