Mother and son’s trauma as yobs throw brick at bus
AMOTHER and her nine-year-old son have described how they were left traumatised when a brick was thrown through a bus window during a ride home from school.
The attack happened when the pair were making their way home on a Go North West service in Middleton on Thursday night, after the boy had finished lessons at Bowlee Park Community Primary School.
Trouble erupted after the bus driver refused to allow youths onto the number 18 service when they refused to pay.
One of them threw a brick which smashed through the window where the boy was sitting, his mother said.
The brick did not hit them. It landed beside them but they were covered in glass, they said. The bus company described the incident as a ‘senseless act of vandalism’.
The boy said: “I’m fine but my mum is not. We are traumatised to get back on the bus. We’re just scared.”
His mother described how, moments before the brick came through the window, the driver has slammed on the brakes and she had hit her head on a pole in front of her which houses the stop button, leaving her crying in pain and shock.
She said: “I was crying. I was so scared. I was in shock and trauma. My child was in a dangerous place. Every parent knows that if their child is in a dangerous place, they know how I feel.”
She said four youths had come onto the bus but the driver ejected three of them for refusing to pay.
The Observer has agreed not to name mother and son.
Josh Devlin, operations director for Go North West, said: “A bus operating on our service 18 was the target of a senseless act of vandalism last night when a brick was thrown at one of its windows.
“This anti-social behaviour endangers the well-being of both our customers and colleagues and it will not be tolerated. Regrettably, in addition to our driver, two of our customers were also affected by this incident, we’d like to assure them we’ll be working closely with the police to help identify those involved.”
Greater Manchester Police has been approached for comment.