Passengers’ shock as ‘paint pot’ thrown at bus windscreen
Damage to the bus
PASSENGERS travelling on a First West of England bus have been left “shaken” after a pot of paint was thrown at the window.
The incident took place on the 75 service at around 2.15pm on April 12 on Bishport Avenue.
One passenger, Jay, contacted the Bristol Post saying that he was travelling on the bus alongside his partner, his partner’s sister and two young children. He and his family had only been on the bus for a short period of time before they heard a “massive bang”.
He said: “We were driving along, it was about two stops after we got on and we were going down the road.
“All we heard was a massive bang and we thought the tyre had popped or something. Or the driver had run over something. We looked at the front of the bus and the windscreen was all smashed.”
Unsure of what had caused the startling noise, Jay said that the driver of the bus pulled in at the next stop and told passengers “a paint can” had been thrown at the window.
Jay said another bus was sent to collect the passengers. He added: “There was quite a few people on the bus and a couple of people did shout. Everyone was just a bit shaken when we got off.
“I just wanted to raise awareness to have your prams facing away from the window. Because, if it had come through the side window and shattered, all the glass could have gone onto the baby and it could have really hurt them.”
First West of England has confirmed it is working with the police to assist in their inquiries. A spokesperson said: “We can confirm an unfortunate incident of vandalism took place yesterday afternoon that saw the window of one of our vehicles damaged causing upset to our driver and passengers.
“We condemn all acts of vandalism and especially the senseless actions of this individual.
“The safety of our staff and passengers is always our number one priority and we are now working closely with the police and reviewing our CCTV cameras to assist in their inquiries into this incident.”