School boys attack bus driver (From Surrey Comet)

School boys attack Carshalton bus driver

12:25pm Thursday 5th February 2009 in News Exclusive By Julia Kennard

A pack of school boys threw snow and ice at a moving bus and then assaulted the driver with kicks and punches in full view of shocked parents.

The students threw the snowballs at the Go-Ahead 154 bus on Stanley Park Road, Carshalton at 3.30pm on Wednesday near Total garage as it travelled towards Sutton.

One witness, who did not want to be named, said when the driver stopped the bus and confronted the group, they swore and then attacked him.

When worried passers-by asked the students to stop one said: “I’ll do what I like’’, the witness said.

The bus driver, who then either slipped on the ice or was pushed to the ground, was then kicked by the students.

When the students finally dispersed after further intervention from passers-by the driver picked himself up, insisted he was okay, boarded the bus, and continued with his journey.

The witness described the students, who were believed to be wearing uniform from a nearby school, as “hooligans’’.

She said: “They were behaving like thugs.

“They were throwing blocks of ice at the bus and when he asked them to stop they attacked him.

“He was kicked over and fell on his back. When we tried to intervene one of them said ‘I’ll do what I like’.

“Some people did try to get him up, but he was quite shaken and wanted to be left alone."

The witness, who said the group were walking in the opposite direction when they began throwing ice at the bus, added: “I was with my children who were quite clearly distressed and were asking why the students had pushed over the driver and if he was going to be alright.

“It was completely unacceptable, we have got to make a stand against hooligans like this.’’ Go-Ahead confirmed the assault on their bus driver.

A Sutton police spokesman said the incident was being looked into by a police school liaison officer. He said: "Wallington Police station received a report at 4.20pm on Wednesday February 4 about an incident about 30 minutes earlier involving a bus travelling through Carshalton and Wallington.

"A group of boys were seen to throw snowballs at the bus. The bus then stopped and the driver got out. An altercation followed.

"The police officer responsible for liaising with schools in this area is looking into the matter. No complaint has been received from the driver."

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