First York bus driver Dave Green attacked by passenger

First York driver Dave Green says he has not been able to return fully to work since the assault, which happened near the Grand Hotel in Station Rise last month.

And he has warned that unless something is done to tackle attacks on buses and their drivers in York, he fears someone is going to end up very badly injured.

The Press reported in 2019 how Dave had been hailed for stopping his bus and performing CPR to save the life of a pedestrian who had collapsed on the pavement in Heslington.

Dave, now 66, said the recent incident happened when he was driving First's number 10 bus back to York from Stamford Bridge at just before 9pm on October 10.

He said he was going round the Tranby Avenue roundabout on the Hull Road when a man ran into the road and into the path of the bus.

"I swerved around him and then pulled safely up at the side of the road further down," he said.

"He was swearing and abusive. I told him to calm down and eventually he got on the bus and was apologising to everybody, so I thought I'd leave it.

"But when I got to Station Rise to do a driver handover, he became really angry again, and when I was standing on the ground by the door he leant down and head-butted me on the forehead.

"I just went completely down - my legs went from under me and I fell backwards but grabbed the black railings. 

"Someone called the police and three or four vehicles eventually turned up, but before they arrived he did a runner. He ran off towards the station."

He said he was taken to hospital for a check-up, and then returned later for a CT scan which showed fluid was dripping down through his sinuses, and he had been put on antibiotics and painkillers.

Station Rise in York (Image: Google)

Dave said he had gone back to work for a couple of days after the attack but had not felt well enough to continue and was off sick at the moment.

Cathy Croston, head of operations at First York, said Dave’s fellow drivers and colleagues had been 'appalled' when they heard about the incident, which was 'extremely rare'.

She added: "We have been supporting him in the weeks since it occurred and will do all we can to assist the police with its investigation.”

North Yorkshire Police said it was investigating a number of lines of inquiry but no one had been arrested in connection with the incident so far.

The incident comes just weeks after passengers on a different York bus were terrorised by a swearing and abusive passenger.