Sheffield bus vandalism: City buses hit by spate of attacks – this is where incidents happened

The most recent incident was reported last night, when Stagecoach revealed it was diverting services to avoid the Westfield estate in the south east of the city due to stones being thrown at its vehicles. Stagecoach apologised for any inconvenience the diversion could cause, saying the diversion will be in place until the end of service.

Today, bus company bosses admitted they had seen several issues recently and stressed they were working closely with police to take action over the problem.

First South Yorkshire said in a statement: “Acts of vandalism against our bus services can have significant safety consequences for our customers and staff as well as those intending to travel. Although such incidents are infrequent we have seen several issues recently in Manor, Halfway and Firth Park / Sheffield Lane Top.

“Altering routes is always a last resort but the safety of our staff and customers is our highest priority. We work closely with the community and the police to investigate the incidents including the use of on board CCTV footage to help identify the individuals involved. Anyone with information about those taking part should contact the police or Crimestoppers.”

The incident at Westfield reported yesterday was only the latest incident in recent weeks, which also included problems over the Halloween period.

These are the incidents of vandalism and antisocial behaviour against buses in Sheffield announced since October 28:

November 11: First diverted number 8 service for safety due to antisocial behaviour on Lister Avenue, near Base Green

November 10: First diverted its 1A/11 service, near Gleadless and Norton because of vandalism

November 7: Service X5 stopped serving Dinnington interchange for a night because of vandalism.

November 6 and 7: Stagecoach 120 service stopped serving Westfield estate due to youths throwing missiles at buses

November 6: Stagecoach stopped serving Thurnscoe, near Barnsley after 6pm due to anti-social behaviour, warning it was only a matter of time until someone gets hurt. The firm has taken this action there on several nights.

November 4: Due to vandalism on the 95/95a, First services on Nottingham Street, Burngreave, were diverted.

November 3: 97/98 services diverted along Herries Drive, Herries Road and Moonshine Lane due to anti-social behaviour.

November 2: Due to vandalism on the 75 and 76 route around Bellhouse Road, First diverted along Hatfield House Lane for safety.

November 1: Vandalism on Castlebeck Avenue and Spinkhill Avenue, near Stradbroke, meant First’s 24 service was diverted; Service 15 diverted due to youths opening engine bays, avoiding Clarke Avenue and Hatter Drive.

October 31: Due to anti-social behaviour on Staniforth Road, 52A diverted; services 115/116 diverted due to vandalism on Doncaster Road, Rotherham; children targeting buses with fireworks on Crowder Road, Longely, leads to diversion of 97/98; vandalism on Far Lane leads to diversion of 115 in Rotherham; Stagecoach diverted the 88 due to antisocial behaviour in Firth Park.

October 30: Vandalism against First’s 75 services on Batemoor Road, services stopped serving the Batemoor loop.

October 28: Due to attempted vandalism, the First 81 and 82 service was diverted away from Mere Lane, Briar Road and Beech Road for an hour.