ACROSS Britain dozens of bus drivers are attacked or verbally abused every day.

Many of these incidents involve physical violence or weapons.

So we can understand why someone who faces a daily dose of verbal – and sometimes physical – harassment loses their temper and lashes out.

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Sadly, that can be no excuse for the torrent of abuse unleashed on social media by a man claiming to be a bus driver fed-up with the daily grind of driving in Bradford.

By unleashing a stream of invective against his tormentors, the author merely surrendered the moral high ground and climbed down into the gutter with them. As the old saying goes: two wrongs do not make a right.

However badly he may have reacted, we do think the author has a point: children throwing stones and fireworks at buses are putting themselves at risk.

Last week's terrible footage of a coach in China that ploughed through a bridge and plunged to its doom should serve as a warning. The accident happened because the driver lost concentration when a passenger attacked him with her phone.

First Group says it always sees an increase in vandalism as Bonfire Night approaches.

Quite rightly, the company does not tolerate abuse of any kind against its staff. If this situation continues surely there will come a time when some bus services are withdrawn.

Bus drivers are doing an important job. They should be able to do so without fear of attack or abuse.

And parents need to take responsibility for the actions of their off-spring.