NSW cabbie arrested over sex assault

A taxi driver who allegedly assaulted a female passenger who had fallen asleep in his cab has been charged in Sydney.

Police say the 24-year-old woman hailed a taxi in Sydney's CBD in the early hours of Sunday, February 23, and later woke in Summer Hill in the city's inner west to find the driver sitting next to her in the back seat.

He allegedly indecently assaulted the woman before she ran from the vehicle.

Police stopped a taxi in Canley Vale around 11.30am (AEDT) on Saturday and arrested a 48-year-old man.

He was charged with indecent assault and given strict bail conditions to appear at Liverpool Local Court on March 26.

A house in Canley Vale was also searched and property seized, police said.

The arrest comes after police on Friday released a photo of the taxi's colourful steering wheel in an attempted to find the attacker.