Bus terror as baby showered with glass

Charlee-Marie Austin was on the bus with her 14-week-old twins Freddie and Alfie when it was attacked by youths as it left Leven Bus Station on Tuesday last week.

“It was terrifying,” said Charlee-Marie (27). “About five or six youths were throwing stones at the bus and I had just leaned over when this brick came through.

“The buggy was in the middle of the bus and Alfie was protected a bit as he was on the outside but glass went over Freddie.”

The bus stopped on the busy roundabout at the Bawbee Bridge and passengers were taken off to wait on another coach arriving.

“I was crying, the babies were crying, it was awful,” the mum said.

Thankfully she could see that neither of the boys was injured but she was not able to get them out their buggy until she got to her mum’s home in Methil.

“When I got to my mum’s I ran up the stairs in a terrible state and got her to take Freddie who was still crying,” Charlee-Marie said.

“It was only when she lifted him that we discovered there was also glass in his cosytoes in the buggy. He got such a fright and it took hours to calm him down.”

However, Charlee-Marie’s fear later turned to anger when she fully appreciated how potentially dangerous the situation could have have been.

“The brick could have hit one of the boys or glass could have gone in their eyes, or if the brick had hit the driver who knows how many people could have been hurt.”

She was so angry that she contacted the police to make sure they were aware of the seriousness of the incident.

Stagecoach East Scotland has confirmed that its driver will be commended for his quick actions.

The company was praised by Charlee-Marie for its response to her after the incident.

“The police liaison officer said that Stagecoach had asked if they could get in touch with me and within an hour of me saying it was okay, there was someone at the door saying how sorry they were, asking how Freddie was and giving us a gift voucher and free travel ticket,” she said. “They didn’t need to do it so it was really nice.”

Sadly, she has been left so shaken that she has not been able to get back on a bus yet.

“I keep going over in my mind what could have happened, I would never have forgiven myself,” she said.

The twins’ birth three months ago was all the more precious because Charlee-Marie’s first baby, Kayleigh, died at five-weeks-old from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

A spokeswoman for Stagecoach East Scotland said: “We’re thankful for the professional manner of our driver and praise his attitude during this unfortunate incident. We appreciate the positive comments from Ms Austin and can confirm the driver will of course be commended for his actions”.

Police Scotland said it was following a positive line of inquiry regarding the incident.