Newport Bus has threatened to remove bus services in one part of the city after hundreds of pounds worth of damage was done to one of its buses. The transport company said the incident on Wednesday, April 19 involved objects reportedly being thrown at a Newport Bus by a number of youths travelling near the Ringland Centre, resulting in damage to the vehicle.
Pictures from the scene showed one window on a bus shattered with broken glass visible inside the vehicle. Gwent Police said it was investigating a report of anti-social behaviour and criminal damage to a bus near the Ringland Centre on Wednesday, April 19.
Newport Bus said it had recorded 11 incidents of vandalism to their vehicles that required repairs in 2022. In a Facebook post uploaded it said: "Should we continue to suffer this damage, we will consider removing services from affected areas."
Read More: Man 'repeatedly targeted' alleged paedophile in public with punches and kicks
A spokesperson for Newport Bus said: "The incident, which took place on Wednesday night, was logged with Gwent Police and we are in the process of providing CCTV images. Curtailing or re-routing a service becomes a necessity when we believe that continuing the service risks the safety of both our passengers and staff.
In 2022 there were 11 incidents of vandalism requiring repairs to vehicles. Whilst incidents are sporadic compared to the number of services we operate daily, we made the decision to post this particular incident to highlight the consequences and costs of such actions All our vehicles are fitted with internal and external CCTV, and we work closely with the police to provide evidence if required."
Although no members of the public were hurt, Newport Bus said a bus window was smashed, causing damage "equivalent of 550 single tickets," according to Newport Bus, which will have to cover the cost of the damage. A single ticket in Newport costs £2, meaning around £1,100 worth of damage has been caused.
Gwent Police said it was investigating the incident and urged anyone with information to contact the force. Neighbourhood inspector for Newport east Roland Giles said: "This behaviour is unacceptable. We will not tolerate the safety of others being put in jeopardy. We take reports of this nature extremely seriously. Our enquiries are ongoing, and we urge anyone with any information or who may have witnessed this incident to get in contact.
"If anyone has any concerns about anti-social or troublesome behaviour in their local area they are asked to call police on 101 and 999 in an emergency.”
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact Gwent Police on 101, or DM us on social media, quoting reference 2300125842. You can also contact the force via social media on Facebook and Twitter and you can report any information anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
READ NEXT:
