A man saw red and assaulted a bus driver because he wasn’t telling passengers to wear a face mask.
James Rooney was travelling on a McGill's bus to his ill father’s house in Renfrew on May 29 last year when he became “extremely paranoid about catching Covid-19” as passengers onboard the bus weren’t wearing face masks.
Rooney, 44, claims he asked the bus driver twice to ask passengers to wear a face mask and when he “ignored him” he saw red and grabbed him by the arm as he got off the bus.
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Sheriff Suhkwinder Gill slammed Rooney as he stood in the dock stating she didn’t take offences as these lightly as her father had been a bus driver.
Sheriff Gill said: I’ve been told you were angry at the bus driver because he wasn’t challenging passengers for not wearing a face mask.
“Can you imagine the bus driver challenging everyone?
“I can fully understand why he didn’t.
“My dad was a bus driver for 25 years and he used to come home and tell us of incidents like this, so I take a very dim view of matters like these.”
Prosecutor Tracy Wright told the court that at the time of the incident there were other passengers on the McGill's bus and members of the public on the footpath.
Ms Wright explained: “Around 5.40pm, Mr Williams was on duty as a bus driver when the accused got on the bus at Braehead Shopping Centre.
“A short time later, the bus approached the stop the accused was getting of at on Inchinnan Road, Renfrew.
“Rooney walked up towards the door and attempted to grab Mr Williams.
“The accused grabbed his left arm, causing him to pull away.
“He contacted his employers and they contacted the police.
“On June 21, officers watched CCTV and made a positive ID of the accused.”
Defence agent Kevin Brady told the court this was “unfortunate circumstances.”
Mr Brady explained: “Mr Rooney works in the Scottish Borders and was travelling to his father’s house who was unwell at the time.
“He had to get a train from Edinburgh to Glasgow and then two buses home.
“Passengers on the bus weren’t wearing a face mask and he was extremely paranoid about catching covid and taking it home to his unwell father.
“He asked the driver twice to ask passengers to wear masks but he claims he ignored him.
“There is an acknowledgment there is a problem with him managing his anger and by and large he has stopped drinking alcohol and he realises it’s a trigger.”
Sheriff Gill fined Rooney £760 and ordered he pays £700 in compensation to Mr Williams.
Full payment of each the fine and compensation was ordered to be made within 28 days.
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