A terrified driver drove his bus full of passengers to the police station after being harassed by a gang of yobs.

Police are now investigating after youths ripped the passenger door from its hinges while others jumped out of the top deck emergency exit in a bid to escape being reported to police.

The Keighley and District Travel bus was making a routine journey from Nab Wood Grammar School to Shipley on the A650 when trouble broke out between rival gangs on the top deck.

The incident on Thursday was the latest flare-up in a long-running alleged feud between Nab Wood Grammar and pupils at Beckfoot. Last November, police were drafted in to restore order as pupils from Nab Wood boarded their buses home.

No-one from the school was prepared to comment on the latest incident.

Driver Stuart Lambert told police he was bombarded with jeers and verbal abuse when he pulled the bus in to a lay-by to warn the youths to stop making trouble.

When the disruption continued, Mr Lambert diverted his bus to Shipley police station in an attempt to report the trouble-makers. But as he was waiting at traffic lights in Saltaire the youths made their escape by ripping off the front passenger doors and jumping through emergency exits at the rear of the bus.

Keighley and District Travel is now installing video cameras on the bus in a bid to catch the troublemakers and highlight the dangerous situations in which drivers are often placed.

Russell Revill, an inspector at the bus company, said: "Drivers never know what dangers they face these days and this type of incident is very distracting for them.

"Potentially, the incident could have been fatal as these lads were jumping from the top floor of the bus, which is extremely dangerous.

"We believe the perpetrators of the incident were pupils at Nab Wood Grammar and it seems like it was part of an on-going feud with pupils at Beckfoot.

"It's the first time a driver has taken a bus from Nab Wood to the police station but the driver was right to do what he did. This type of a behaviour on a public service vehicle is very serious indeed and action must be taken."

Darren Burton, convenor of the schools' assaults sub-committee of the Transport and General Workers Union, said that incidents such as this raised concerns about bus driver safety.

He said: "Our members' safety is of paramount importance. This type of behaviour on buses is becoming more apparent and it's something we would like to reduce."

Schools liaison officer Inspector Mohammed Raja said that identity cards for pupils travelling on buses had been introduced at Nab Wood Grammar six months ago in a bid to reduce abuse on buses. No one was available from Beckfoot to comment.

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