A YOUTH accused of hurling a metal nut through the window of a packed school bus is facing prosecution.

The First bus company has confirmed it will ask police to charge a Huntington School pupil, who it says threw the missile at its No5 service last Friday morning.

A two-inch nut shattered the window and showered glass into the vehicle as it pulled up outside the school, narrowly missing pupils.

After an investigation by school deputy head David Kibble, the boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was excluded.

First's traffic manager, Peter McCarthy, said the company was looking to prosecute the youngster to "set an example".

"It is costing us £100 per day while the bus is off the road. These kinds of actions are not right and we have got to put a stop to them.

"If it had been thrown when the bus was travelling at 30mph, and had hit the driver, what could have happened?

"We are going to prosecute, and the police have been told that."

Mr Kibble said: "One of our pupils was involved.

"I carried out an investigation and pupils volunteered the information as to who was responsible.

"The school views this as a very serious incident. We recognise that people could have been injured.

"Some of our own pupils only just missed being injured. We know the bus company is pursuing the matter with the local police and we support them in doing that."

A York police spokeswoman said: "We are aware of the incident but have had no updates on its progress."

Updated: 10:56 Wednesday, December 19, 2001