'Mindless' yobs hunted by police after bus attack

Published on Saturday 21 November 2009 10:19

STONE-THROWING youths have been accused of "mindless stupidity" after a bus driver was left temporarily blinded when glass from a window flew into his eyes.

The driver was left covered in glass when his bus was attacked as he drove through Newtongrange in Midlothian.

It was the second time in less than a week that a First bus has come under fire in the village. In

the earlier incident, a female passenger was injured when a window smashed.

First withdrew services in parts of Midlothian three years ago after a spate of attacks saw several buses hit by missiles, causing thousands of pounds in damage.

Photographer catches gang hurling stones

Today, the bus company said it would be working with police to track down those responsible.

The latest attack came on the number 86 service as it travelled along Suttieslea Road at about 9pm on Thursday night.

The driver was forced to make an emergency stop after glass particles hit him in the eyes. He is recovering at home after undergoing hospital treatment.

Six youths were seen running away from the scene and they are now being hunted by police.

Councillor Colin Beattie, whose ward covers Newtongrange, said: "Throwing stones or anything else at buses is mindless stupidity. The fact that there have only been two injuries, which seem to be relatively minor, is only down to good fortune; these incidents could have led to potential fatalities if a driver was struck. And I would say that a driver having glass in his eye is not minor, it's serious.

"We know that First has withdrawn services in the past because of such attacks. I would hope that the company will give police time to catch these mindless youngsters before taking any extreme action to withdraw routes."

The previous attack left a passenger with "minor injuries" after a window was smashed by a youth who threw a stone on Dalhousie Road at 7:30pm on 12 November.

A spokeswoman for First Bus said: "We can confirm that youths threw objects at our vehicles within the Newtongrange area on two different dates in the last week. The latest incident on 19 November resulted in one of our drivers being injured.

"The safety of our staff and passengers is our number one priority and we are working closely with the police."

From the latest attack, police released descriptions of a boy and girl spotted running away.

The boy is described as being in his teens, 5ft tall, with a red hat, a light jacket with the letter 'V' on the back and white trainers.

The girl, also in her teens, was wearing a red hat, along with a light jacket and dark trousers.

A police spokesman said: "This was a serious incident that had the potential to cause serious injury, and we are appealing for anyone who saw what happened to contact police.

"In October 2005, First Bus withdrew its new fleet of 15 double-deckers from the route after a number of buses had their windows smashed, mainly in an area of Dalkeith which became known as "ambush alley".