Vandals smash up bus shelters in Leicester in a late-night wrecking spree
Vandals smashed five bus shelters in a late-night wrecking spree.
Shattered glass was strewn around the bus stops near to the Aylestone leisure centre, in Saffron Lane, Leicester, as passengers waited to travel yesterday morning.
The company responsible for the shelters is looking at replacing the glass with a stronger material to prevent further vandalism.
One bus passenger, who lives nearby, said: "I use the bus most days and I don't remember this happening before.
"It's very dangerous to have all this glass all over the floor. People could hurt themselves."
Another passenger said: "It's terrible, people just going round and vandalising things."
City councillor Dale Keeling, who represents the area, said he was shocked to hear about the vandalism.
"I'm upset something like this has happened again," he said. "We'd hoped it had all stopped because it's been quiet over the last few months.
"I had hoped the trouble had moved on but now we've had this I'm not so sure.
"To smash up five is quite a big deal. The broken glass is very dangerous to people walking past and also the cars driving along the road."
The shelters, in between the junctions with Wren Close and Clifton Road, are maintained by advertising company JC Decaux.
Council bosses said that someone from the firm was due to assess the damage yesterday and that the glass would be cleared and replaced within 48 hours.
It is not known how much it will cost to repair the shelters.
A spokesman for JC Decaux said that the company was aware of the incidents but that it did not comment on acts of vandalism.
A Leicester City Council spokeswoman, commenting on behalf of the advertising company, said: "The JC Decaux operations team is working in the area making safe all the shelters and sweeping up all the glass on the highway.
"Once this is complete and all sites are safe for the public, they will re-glaze the shelters, possibly with a polycarbonate alternative to glass given the extreme nature of these attacks. The incidents have also been reported to the police and the council's antisocial behaviour unit."
4 Comments
by LR, saffron lane
Sunday, September 12 2010, 6:36PM
“Wow, again....this isnt the first time. surley its happened enough times for monitoring? we were waiting at a bustop once, and it shattered for no reason. didnt see anyone drive past, as soon as we heard buzzing on cracking, we moved away, and the glass cracked up. bizarre. I cant help but agree with you, "j" we put up with these creatures on a daily basis. its about time they grew up. parents, authorities and police couldnt do less to prevent this insanity. tut tut.”
by alan5547, leics
Friday, September 10 2010, 9:37AM
“maybe, the 'glass' should be acrylic ?
(At least they could only cover it in graffiti grafiti ..graphity...
paint!”
by me, leicester
Friday, September 10 2010, 12:03AM
“well done J . Although I have to admit your in the minority to actually do something and not being procecuted.”
by j, leic
Thursday, September 09 2010, 1:03PM
“Ha ha, pathetic. I live a few hundred yards from here and there are groups of boys (they aren't men) who obviously see themselves as some kind of "Gangstas". Newsflash; you're not, you are little boys who are about as scary as a cheese sanwich.
A group of them tried to intimidate me walking back from the shop (past the bus stops in this story) by blocking my path - I just walked straight through them. Of course they did nothing.
Treat these idiots like the children they are. Don't be scared of them, don't give them the satisfaction of calling the police if they are loitering, and if they do something like this and you see them don't be afraid of coming forward as a witness. I did and one of them went to prison for 10 weeks.”