A terrified bus driver diverted his double-decker to a police station after school children went on the rampage on the top deck.

All but three windows were smashed on the upper deck of the £70,000 bus while seats were slashed and buckled as the vehicle was taking pupils home from school.

The driver of the A82 First Bradford service was so worried by the sound of the marauding youngsters that he drove straight to Odsal police station and called on officers to intervene.

Police took video footage of every one of the Buttershaw High School pupils onboard, thought to be about 20, as they were ordered off the damaged bus.

A police spokesman said they would not stand for such "mindless behaviour".

Officers are now trying to establish who was responsible. It is the latest in a string of attacks on buses - and bus chiefs are warning they will withdraw services if vandals strike.

Only last week First Bradford warned schoolchildren travelling on the B73 service to Immanuel College that the service would be stopped if vandalism and bad behaviour continued.

And on March 1 teenage vandals terrorised motorists as they ripped out seats from the A44 First Bradford school bus from Tong to West Bowling and threw them at cars. The company's traffic manager Peter Holmes, pictured, said today: "This latest incident is the worst act of vandalism we have encountered in Bradford so far.

"It will cost us £1,300 in repairs and man hours but it also has had a knock-on affect in terms of the bus being out of action and unable to operate on other services.

"This and a number of similar attacks has led us to take the decision to withdraw the A82 service from next Monday Mar 26 for a fortnight.

"We have spoken to the police and to the school and liaised with them about the future of the service. If further incidents occur when the A82 service has been reinstated after the Easter Holidays on April 23 then it will be withdrawn permanently.

"We are not willing to risk the safety of our staff, customers or other road users."

The bus began its journey outside the Buttershaw Annexe, formerly Buttershaw Middle School, in Reevy Crescent, just before 3.30pm on Wednesday.

Trouble broke almost immediately and one child told the driver that an upstairs window had been smashed. When he heard several more being destroyed he took the decision to divert to Odsal police station instead of carrying on to his final destination in Southfield Lane, Little Horton.

A West Yorkshire police spokesman said: "We will not tolerate this mindless behaviour.

"Officers are investigating the incident and have taken the video evidence and are trying to identify those responsible."

Brian Ross, the head teacher of Buttershaw High School, said the incident was reported to him yesterday morning Mar 22.

He said: "The school is in liaison with the police and the First Bradford company and appropriate action will be taken by all concerned to try to eliminate all such anti-social behaviour."

Bradford Council's assistant education director Dennis Williams said: "We are very concerned about the incident and we are liaising with the school and the police to see what action can be taken to resolve this."