BUS windows have again been smashed by vandals while carrying passengers in Bournemouth causing a service to be suspended.
On the evening of Thursday, August 25, Morebus was forced to suspend its 14, 5 and 5a services in West Howe after “coming under attack” by youths throwing pellets or ball bearings through bus windows.
The services were suspended for the rest of the evening as a result of the criminal damage, which took place as the bus was travelling through Cunningham Crescent.
Morebus general manager Richard Wade said: “I’m sorry to report that one of our buses was attacked with pellets or ball bearings, as it travelled through Cunningham Crescent yesterday evening.
“This resulted in two broken windows but, thankfully, nobody was injured.
“In the interests of safety - both for our passengers and for our colleagues - we took the decision to divert our services 14, 5 and 5a directly via Kinson Road for the remainder of the evening.
“Will have reported this incident to the police, and will be working with them to identify and prosecute the perpetrators. Our services are currently running as normal, but we are monitoring the situation very closely, and will take further action wherever necessary.
“I would like to apologise to our customers, for any inconvenience this has caused, and I thank them for their patience.”
A Dorset Police spokesperson said: “[We] received a report at around 1.45pm on Friday August 26 of criminal damage to a bus in the West Howe area of Bournemouth.
“The incident occurred at around 8.50pm on Thursday August 25 in Cunningham Crescent. It is reported that damage was caused to a window. Officers are carrying out enquiries into the report.”
This is the latest in a spate of similar attacks on Morebus vehicles in recent weeks, with similar incidents taking place in Arne Avenue, Poole, in late July and into August.
It also follows similar incidents in Cunningham Crescent seen in October and November last year, where youths caused “deplorable” damage to a Yellow Buses vehicle. Damage to bus stops and instances of youths climbing on top of buses were also reported around this time.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel