Published: Wednesday, 14th May, 2008 12:00
Bus driver hurt in bottle attack
By Hamish Hutchinson
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The driver of a First bus was left traumatised and suffered a split head after being attacked by a thug with a Buckfast bottle.
Pic by: Jan van der Merwe
A BUS driver was left traumatised after a drunken thug split open his head with a bottle of Buckfast in a brutal attack.
The driver of the First bus service received eight stitches to his forehead and four months after the assault he is still undergoing counselling.
On Thursday, Sheriff David Mackie made an example of teenager Craig Middleton by locking him up for 12 months for carrying out the attack. The 18-year-old will spend the next year at Polmont Young Offenders Institution, as a warning to those who abuse workers in the public sector.
Sheriff Mackie said, “An assault is bad enough, but an assault on a bus driver when he was going about his public duty is a serious matter and one that will simply not be tolerated by this court.
“Public servants should not have to go to work each day wondering if this is the day they are going to be assaulted.”
Middleton, who appeared from custody, had previously admitted charges of breach of the peace and assault to injury and permanent disfigurement whilst on bail.
On 19 January the First bus service from Falkirk to Alloa arrived at Shillinghill about 8.30pm where four people boarded.
As it was about to leave Middleton jumped on board and put down a handful of change which wasn’t enough for the fare.
He wandered up to the back of the bus and refused to leave, taunting the driver to call the police whilst swigging from a bottle of Buckfast.
As the driver radioed the bus depot to call the police Middleton proceeded to threaten a nearby passenger telling him he’d cut his throat when they reached Tullibody.
Middleton finally left the bus after the driver told him the police were on their way.
Fiscal depute Keri Marshall said, “The bus stopped and the driver made contact with the depot but remained on the bus.
“About a minute later the accused returned to the bus still holding the bottle of Buckfast.
“He stated he wanted to get back on but the driver refused. The accused attempted to reboard the bus but on being refused again he became aggressive.
“The accused was swinging the Buckfast bottle, holding it by the neck, and he swung it towards the driver.
“The driver grabbed the accused’s wrist but the accused managed to strike the driver on the head with the bottle. The driver fell to the ground.”
Middleton’s defence solicitor Mr Dalling said his client was going through family and behavioural difficulties at the time and he had started drinking heavily.
He said “excessive alcohol and excessive aggression” resulted in his client committing the offences.
Middleton’s sentence was backdated to January when he was first remanded in custody.
Following the verdict the bus company told the Advertiser that it was pleased a severe penalty had been imposed as a result of the incident.
Juliette Turner, operations director for First Scotland East, said, “Attacks on our bus drivers are totally unacceptable and will not be tolerated by First.
“Our drivers are taught during their initial training to avoid conflict where possible and we also have additional security measures such as CCTV in place on many of our buses to help protect both staff and our passengers.
“The driver involved is back behind the wheel but is still undergoing counselling following this traumatic experience.”
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