Bus driver in hospital after beating by youths

A bus driver was still in Christchurch Hospital yesterday with severe bruising and suspected spinal injuries after being attacked by a group of young people on Saturday night.

Leopard Coachlines managing director Brent Early said about 15 young people aged between 12 and 15 refused to leave a bus when it finished its run at the Eastgate Mall, in the suburb of Linwood, about midnight on Saturday.

The driver told them the bus was returning to the depot, but they refused to get off and stayed aboard until it reached the Ensors Rd depot a short distance away.

Mr Early said the group - including several young girls - then began assaulting the driver, in his 50s.

Another bus driver stopped to help, said Mr Early, "but the youths laid into him virtually before he got out of the door.

"The second driver was the one who was badly hurt, but both drivers were assaulted," he said.

When St John Ambulance paramedics arrived, they initially refused to leave their ambulance because the youths were still nearby.

"The driver was lying there unconscious for some time until the police arrived and the ambulance officers took over," Mr Early said.

The man suffered cuts and severe bruising to his head, neck and back.

Mr Early said he was a "very experienced" driver.

Such incidents were "irregular but increasing in frequency," he said.

"There seems to be a growing problem with youths congregating in reasonable numbers and using the buses for transport between the malls," Mr Early said.

"They just seem to be using an opportunist moment to steal from the driver, abuse him or vandalise the bus."

He said police would be studying video surveillance tapes from cameras on the bus and from the Palms Mall in Shirley, where the group of youths got on board the vehicle.

In an unrelated incident about 6pm the same night, a youth grabbed another bus driver's takings and ran off.

Police are investigating both incidents.

St John Canterbury district operations manager Tony Dowell said he had no record of staff facing any dangerous situation during the incident.

However, he was still waiting to speak to the paramedics involved.

Mr Dowell said St John had "policies and procedures in place" for situations where staff could possibly be endangered.

- NZPA