Sheffield thug jailed for attacking bus driver during row over payment during pandemic

Sheffield Crown Court heard on October 7 how Kane Nelson, aged 33, of Fox Hill Crescent, Birley Edge, Sheffield, repeatedly punched a bus driver on Baslow Road, Totley, Sheffield, to the head after the driver had refused to take a cash payment during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Aaron Dinnes, prosecuting, said Nelson assaulted bus driver Malcolm Line following a dispute over the type of payment allowed at that time and during a separate later incident the defendant also assaulted his former partner by repeatedly punching her to the face.

Mr Dinnes said: “Mr Line is a bus driver and on the day in question he was driving on duty and stopped his bus on Baslow Road and a number of passengers got on the bus including this defendant.

“There was a bit of an argument with him and the bus driver over the means of paying and the bus driver was not willing to accept cash and this defendant only had cash on him.”

Nelson opened the door of the driver’s compartment and repeatedly punched Mr Line to his face, nose and ear, according to Mr Dunnes, before leaving the bus and punching him through the bus window.

The defendant initially told police he had acted in self-defence after the bus driver had opened the compartment door and he denied going around the side of the bus and reaching into the window but these accounts were inconsistent with CCTV footage, according to Mr Dinnes.

Mr Dinnes said Mr Line suffered bruising and a broken nose with a nasal blockage and a deformity requiring manipulation under local anaesthetic.

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The court heard the bus driver had asked his employers for a different bus route after the attack but his request was refused and he was so distressed he was forced to give up his job – losing his career and pension.

Mr Dinnes also told how Nelson assaulted his former partner after he had been staying at her home in August, 2021, and he had punched her several times to the face and head.

She stated: “After the attack on me I realised how evil and violent he is. I honestly thought he was going to kill me during this unprovoked attack.”

Nelson, who has previous convictions, pleaded guilty to two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Vanessa Saxton, defending, said Nelson has identified the problems he was having at the time and that they did not excuse his behaviour.

She added that Nelson works as a scaffolder, window cleaner and repair man and his employers are willing to employ him in the future.

Recorder Paul Reid described the assault on the bus driver as “hideous” and he said Nelson had presumably attacked his former partner in a fit of jealousy after looking at her social media account.

He described Nelson as “a man prone to uncontrolled violence” before sentencing him to four years of custody.

Nelson was also made subject to an indefinite restraining order to protect his former partner.