Girls in 'fighting frenzy', says bus driver

The last thing Christchurch bus driver Leslie Stringer remembers before he lost consciousness is a pack of teenaged girls chanting "Kill him, kill him".

Mr Stringer, 53, speaking from his bed at Burwood Hospital, suffered spinal injuries when he was viciously assaulted on Saturday night.

"It was open season," he told the Press newspaper.

Just minutes before the end of his shift, around 11.45pm, he had turned his bus around after seeing fellow Orbiter driver David Roelof having difficulty getting the group off his bus.

Mr Roelof was also dragged to the ground, and two supervisors who went to help him were bitten and punched.

He recalls hearing the group of up to 15 teens aged 12 to 16, many of them girls, egging each other on.

"I think they went into a fighting frenzy ... They were just out to harm me."

St John Ambulance paramedics waited briefly in their ambulance until the unruly youths dispersed before treating both drivers.

Mr Stringer was taken to hospital in a neck brace with a suspected broken back and continues to suffer from dizzy spells. He was not sure if he would return to work as a bus driver.

The gang took cash from both buses.

Leopard Coachlines confirmed that the security camera in the bus was broken. The company is considering cancelling late-night bus services.

- NZPA