Serial brick thrower wreaking havoc in random attacks across transport network

A woman has become the latest victim of a vandal who could be behind a series of attacks on Manchester’s transport system.

The victim, who has not been named, was sitting on a bus driving down Ashton Road in Droylsden, Greater Manchester, when the window was shattered by a large brick which struck her face on the evening of August 19.

Her injuries were so bad she needed both facial and dental surgery.

Nearly a month later, the suspect has not been caught, though is suspected to have ‘local knowledge’ of the area around St Mary’s Church.

There have been a number of previous incidents involving missiles being thrown at buses and Metrolink trams in the area.

In 2022 statistics highlighted there had been 107 reported attacks in just 12 months, according to Transport for Manchester.

The data showed that Stockport was a hot-spot area, with 30 attacks on buses.

It also showed Metrolink trams had been hit by missiles more than 150 times over the same period, back in 2022.

Detectives are looking into the possibility that all the incidents are linked, and are urging people with information to come forward.

PC Carl Kelly said: ‘I am hopeful the victim will recover from her injuries but we are lucky we are not dealing with this as a fatal incident or a person suffering life-changing injuries.

‘We are continuing enquiries in the area and I ask residents and the wider community to be vigilant.

‘I am also appealing to parents, guardians and teachers for information and to stress the dangers of such behaviours of throwing items at passing vehicles.’

Kate Green, from Transport for Greater Manchester said: ‘This was a sickening incident which could have easily left the victim with life-changing injuries or worse. All customers and staff who travel or work on public transport are entitled to be safe and feel safe when travelling.

‘Their safety is of paramount importance to the TravelSafe Partnership, and we take a zero-tolerance approach to all crime and antisocial behaviour on our networks.

‘Throwing any kind of object at public transport is extremely dangerous and not only puts passengers and the driver of the vehicle at risk, but it can also have potentially life-changing consequences for the individuals behind this thoughtless behaviour.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.