Hero Bus Driver Foils Gun Plot

A double decker bus was stopped by police on Torquay seafront after a passenger was spotted carrying a gun.Units surrounded the No 12 Stagecoach on Torbay Road outside the Livermead Cliff Hotel after receiving a 999 call from the bus company which had been tipped off by the driver.
Officers spoke to a young man and seized his weapon which turned out to be a BB or ball bearing gun - an imitation firearm which it is illegal to carry in public under new legislation.
Stagecoach boss Chris Hilditch said today: "I've never come across anything like this after nearly 30 years in the bus business."He added: "We are grateful to the passenger for alerting our driver who did the right thing and kept her cool in difficult circumstances. The police also did well to respond so quickly."
Police pounced just after 9am yesterday when Stagecoach staff told them a driver had reported a passenger on the top of deck of his bus was armed with a gun.Two police units stopped the vehicle on the seafront and spoke to the 19-year-old passenger from Brixham who was about to leave the bus. The gun was in his bag.
A spokesman said he was given "strong advice" about carrying a BB gun in a public place. He was also briefed about recent legislation. He was not arrested. The banned weapon was seized for destruction.The bus was allowed to continue on its journey after a half-hour delay.It's understood the man spoken to by police was the only other passenger on the bus when the alarm was initially raised from the vehicle as it stopped at Wheatridge Lane, Livermead.
The police spokesman said: "This could have been quite a serious incident. Some people are still not aware of new legislation which bans these imitation guns from being carried in public."Stagecoach did well to raise the alarm in the way they did. Fortunately we did not have to deploy an armed response team on this occasion. The consequences of carrying such an item in public can be very serious and distressing for the person involved."


After the police had given this nutter his "strong advice," they then asked the driver if she would take him on to his destination, easier than arresting him. She told them to get s****d. Or words to that effect. She also carried on working in the true tradition of bus drivers every where, after all what's half and hour late round here.