A GUNPOINT robbery has led to yet another bus route in Huddersfield stopping after dark.
The robbery in Bradley is the latest in a spate of attacks and vandalism on buses across Huddersfield which has led to several routes not running during the hours of darkness - or at all.
In the latest attack, a 34-year-old bus driver was robbed by a man with a revolver after he had stopped specially for the man and given him a cigarette.
The bus is operated by First Huddersfield and managers have offered a £500 reward for information leading to a conviction.
The robbery took place on route 327 at the terminus on Bradley Business Park. Now the service will end at Deighton police station on Keldregate from 6pm.
This means it will no longer run on Leeds Road and up Bradley Road until further notice. The 328 bus which runs through Bradley will be unaffected.
The driver was flagged down by the man on Leeds Road. He was the only passenger on the bus when it stopped at the terminus at about 9.50pm.
The driver got out, had a cigarette and the passenger asked for one. Then he took out a handgun and demanded money. The driver handed some over and the robber fled.
He was African-Caribbean, in his mid 30s, about 5ft 10in with a chubby face, two gold teeth and a slight moustache. He wore a black quilted jacket and dark blue jeans.
First Huddersfield business director Graham Riley said managers met quickly after the robbery and decided safety had to come first.
"We realise there are a lot of elderly and very young people in the Bradley area who rely on our buses, but we have to consider the safety of our employees and are very concerned at what is going on in the town," he said.
"There are just a few individuals who have caused this and I would appeal for anyone who knows who they are to come forward and tell the police.
"If a gun is used in a robbery, the victim has to believe it is authentic. This is armed robbery and if it had happened at a post office there would have been an outcry."
He said First Huddersfield buses in Bradley would all have CCTV cameras on board and special screens to protect the drivers from attack.
First Huddersfield has already suspended services into the Sunny Heys area of Meltham after a driver was robbed at gunpoint there in the middle of last month and yobs smashed windows.
Arriva has withdrawn its buses from Keldregate in Bradley after three of its drivers were robbed earlier in the autumn. The buses are still axed there.
Yorkshire Traction stopped running buses in Lepton after dark after attacks on buses in the village by yobs.
* Call Pc Pam Lynch on 01484 436582 with information on the robbery.
