Buses come under attack from youths

A BUS operator was forced to withdraw services from a city street after youths armed with stones began attacking vehicles.

The 9, 10 and 33 services run by Xplore Dundee were withdrawn from Lothian Crescent in Whitfield last night.

Youths were reported to have climbed on to a construction site and hurled missiles at passing traffic at around 8pm.

A statement from the firm issued last night said: “We regret that all buses will be withdrawn from Lothian Crescent for the rest of the night due to stone throwing.”

Margo McLaren, 52, who lives in nearby Murrayfield Gardens, said she saw a group of youths causing trouble at around 6pm.

She said: “From my kitchen I could see a gang of them throwing stones. There were about six or seven of them. I couldn’t believe it — they didn’t care about anybody’s safety.”

Karen Brownlee, 56, a resident who lives near where the incident took place, said: “There have been a lot of problems involving gangs of youths — they’ve been setting fires and all sorts for the last couple of months.”

North East councillor Brian Gordon said the behaviour of the youths was putting passengers at risk.

He added: “These youths are creating a danger to drivers, passengers and people who are walking about nearby.”

In a separate incident, a bus travelling on Happyhillock Road had a window smashed. No one was injured.

The incidents come just a week after Xplore launched a safety film to highlight the dangers of stone throwing.

A police spokesman said officers had received reports of stone throwing after youths climbed onto a construction site.

A spokeswoman for Xplore Dundee said: “In order to protect the safety of our customers and drivers, we took the decision to temporarily remove services from Lothian Crescent last night due to high levels of antisocial behaviour directed towards our vehicles. We would urge local residents to report any antisocial behaviour they see in this area, particularly youths throwing stones at buses.

“This kind of act is extremely dangerous and we will be working with the police to try and identify and prosecute anyone who targets our vehicles in this way.”

AN electrical fault caused a car to go up in flames on a Dundee road. Emergency services were called to the blaze outside Tesco on Riverside Drive just before 6pm yesterday. Part of the road was closed off by police while the incident was being dealt...