Axe yobs target school bus

Wayne Ankers

September 12, 2008

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AN axe-wielding masked gang launched a terrifying attack on a school bus full of youngsters.

The bus, with about 30 children on board, was also battered with a crowbar and a golf club. One pupil was injured in the attack.

It had stopped at the junction of Simonsway and Shadow Moss Road, Wythenshawe, when the gang of five - all wearing dark hoodies and balaclavas - launched the attack.

They used the weapons to smash windows on the bus, from top school St Ambrose College in Hale Barns, and an axe was thrown straight through the vehicle, narrowly missing the head of one boy.

Passenger George Fountain, 12, of Cheadle, told how it was lucky nobody was seriously hurt.

The year-eight pupil said: "All of a sudden the gang appeared and I heard a big smash and glass was everywhere.

"They had an axe and a crowbar and golf club and were acting like maniacs.

"The axe went through one window and just missed one of my friends. It then smashed through the other side. It all happened very quickly and everyone had their heads down.

The youngster said five windows were smashed and one boy suffered a cut near his eye. He was treated at the scene by paramedics and taken to hospital as a precaution.

George's mum Marilyn, 42, said: "It is very shocking. It is not something you expect to happen on a school bus."

A police spokesman said the incident was being treated as a serious and threatening attack.

The spokesman added: "There appear to be no serious injuries at the moment. Inquiries into the circumstances surrounding the incident are ongoing." Michael Thompson, Headteacher at St Ambrose College, confirmed one boy sustained a minor cut in the attack.

He added: "The bus driver acted promptly and professionally, moving the bus to a safe location and then contacting both the police and the college.

"Police were present within minutes and teachers, who made their way to the incident immediately from St Ambrose College, some three miles away, arrived shortly afterwards and stayed with the boys until a replacement bus arrived.

"St Ambrose would like to thank the police for their swift response and the bus driver for his professional attitude.

"We believe it was a random attack and are being kept informed as police conduct their investigation."

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Axe gang in bus attack
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Alan Rose, Manchester (12/09/2008 at 08:44)

What possible justification can there be for an act of sheer stupidity and thuggery like this?

Needless to say, if the perpetrators are ever caught, the magistrate will be lenient on them, as they come from a broken home, or some such nonsense!

What is going wrong in the UK???

PW, Manchester (12/09/2008 at 09:03)

And it's wrong to say anything critical of Wythenshawe?

synikal, Manchester (12/09/2008 at 09:17)

what the hell is wrong with people??????????

Marc (12/09/2008 at 09:20)

No, its not wrong PW. However, I think you can find this kind of brutal, thuggish behaviour all over Manchester. Its even rough out in the sticks. Try walking through Stalybridge without being intimidated by some thug and his ugly mates.

Damian O'Brien (12/09/2008 at 09:21)

Sad and pathetic are 2 words to describe this incident. This random attack was probably motivated by the fact that the kids on the bus actually bother to attend school. These yobs are jealous of the normality enjoyed by the kids fron St.Ambrose. If the bullies ever manage to learn to read then take note. You make be unruly kids now but in 10 years time you will still be standing on the same street corners wearing the same old tracksuits & trainers drinking the same old cider. I feel very sorry for you.

want to leave, Stretford (12/09/2008 at 09:54)

Next time put some armed plainclothes police on the bus & shoot the idiots, they won't do it again.

Mark, South Manchester (12/09/2008 at 09:55)

Obviously bored with attacking the homes of those Indian nurses (who came to work at their local hospital) and throwing bricks at cars on the local motorway etc etc - the cowardly violent thugs of Wythenshawe have now decided to savagely attack kids on school buses!!!

The taxpayer is wasting his/her money trying to regenerate such places.

PW, Manchester (12/09/2008 at 10:13)

Mark of South Manchester, you are so right that you can't throw money at these problems. It's not poverty or social-deprivation. It's simply moral deprivation which is passively encouraged by our rulers.

And Marc, I know you get this kind of thing all over, but some areas are worse than others. There has been a lot of money spent on Stalybridge, but again the money hasn't solved the moral deprivation.

synikal, Manchester (12/09/2008 at 10:19)

Damian O'Brien, very well said.

Guten Tag (12/09/2008 at 10:20)

Plain clothed Police won't stop this. I was unfortunate to get a black hac taxi from Manchester airport five years ago to go to the civil centre car park. The taxi driver took a short cut through the estate mentioned in this article when it was attacked by a young group of brick welding thugs who showered the taxi! The taxi driver pulled over to which I said that is not a good idea, and as he tried to get out, his door was heavily pelted with stones and bottles! The problem with this area has gone on for years. Thugs rule the estate.

phil m, cumbria (12/09/2008 at 10:22)

It's time for our nampy pampy police to be given the powers to smash some heads.

L L Fontelroy (12/09/2008 at 10:33)

Personally I would invite the Prime Minister to have an undercover visit of all the suburban areas and see what the real people have to put up with, then perhaps he might provide a better policing policy and judicial system rather than talking to "community leaders" about how we can help these poor delinquents. Sick to death of do -gooders, life is hard for everyone, so get a job, earn your crust and learn to respect others - this country is the pits and everyone knows its down hill from now on!

Chris Green, Chorlton-cum-Hardy (12/09/2008 at 11:01)

I blame it on society!

Just as in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, if all discipline and control is removed from children they will turn savage.

Looking at the influences in the lives of children residing in “deprived communities” it is hard to see any good ones that are left. Parents have long since given up and expect the schools to do it. The schools can’t control the kids because there is no parental support. The children increasingly engage in criminal activity that the police have no powers to deter and the magistrates do not impose any punishments.

Isn’t it time to undo the elements that have created this situation?

Children are not mini adults and shouldn’t be accorded the same rights as maxi adults as they don’t and can’t be expected to take on the same responsibilities.

Parents should be made to sign behavioural contracts with the school that tell all parties what is expected of them. Failure to comply should result in expulsion.

Police should work with problem families as far as possible but at a certain point the judicial system should step in and punish criminality regardless of the age of the perpetrator.

Benefits should only be handed out to those families who behave in a civilised manner. Too many transgressions should result in the removal of benefits.

Ace Shakepseare, manchester (12/09/2008 at 11:04)

This is what happens when liberal thinking politicians/people run the country.Its time to bring back real thinking and run a controlled country.Bring back law and order and run the country where the innocent people are in control and not the criminals.The looney left idiots who only run the country to keep their mates in jobs to look after the criminals by making jobs for the professional shrinks and doctors to evaluate these criminals.

Shade of green (12/09/2008 at 11:36)

Chris Green, I couldn't agree more!

PW, Manchester (12/09/2008 at 11:46)

And £91 an hour isn't enough for the barristers to defend these types. Mind you, it would take some clever minds to defend this lot.

Blip, Manchester (12/09/2008 at 12:08)

"Police were present within minutes"... yes about 15 to be exact, and with all the urgency of a stroll in the park. And why did the police not consider an axe attack on schoolchildren to be a 'blue light' incident?

papillon (12/09/2008 at 12:18)

it,s the same all over,hunting in packs,not one of these muppets would dream of getting involved in a fight or situation they might come second best in,deprevation,s got nothing to do with it as they,ve all got the latest gear on,in the not too distant future these vermin will start to go missing permanently and mummy will be on the front of the MEN claiming they had hearts of gold

jacko101 (12/09/2008 at 12:18)

Guten Tag, What estate are you talking about? The whole of Wythenshawe or some of the inner areas?

I grew up in Peel Hall and my parents still live there and I've never heard of anything like this happening. There are some really dodgy parts, like Benchill but that is not near this junction.

I did send another post in, but it seems the mods didn't like my post, let's see if this gets through!

Growler (12/09/2008 at 12:30)

lets give them a fixed penalty for disorder......that'll teach um !!

Rugbygirl 2605, urmston (12/09/2008 at 12:33)

Chris Green for Prime minister!!!! Totally agree with you there - schools cannot discipline a child properly any more and the kids are therefore walking all over the teachers! A girl in my daughters class at school has 'anger issues'. She has been told by a councillor to just get up and walk out of a lesson if she feels angry. Consequently she gets up in every class and walks out - distrupting all the other pupils who are trying to learn. What can the school do? nothing!!! In our day we would have been told off, detention, slipper or expelled. Some of these kids really need a kick up the backside, but nobody is allowed to give it to them - thanks to these softly softly idiots!

Redtooth, Manchester (12/09/2008 at 12:43)

There has been a lot of good work going on in Wythenshawe this small gang should not take anything away from this and tar the people of Wythenshawe with the same brush as these hooligans, there are a lot of very good people who deserve this regeneration that has been a long time coming.... too long

Elb Owdeep (12/09/2008 at 13:14)

nothing new here. typical behaviour of the type of hood-rats that inhabit the Wythenshawe area.

no point submitting comments with solutions - there aren't any.

Mike, Manchester (12/09/2008 at 13:19)

Ace, i had to read your comment THREE TIMES before i finally convinced myself that the word "birch" actually did not appear.

Gary SK13 (12/09/2008 at 13:30)

I blame the PC brigade for this. They have campaigned for so called human rights to the point where politicians and police are powerless to do anything. Morons like this should be publicly humiliated, their benefits taken away, and be made to do unpaid labour ( improving the estate they live on for starters). Perhaps if they had rebuilt a wall or painted a fence etc , they would have a bit more pride in the area they live in.

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