Mum who filmed ‘horrifying’ incident on Stagecoach bus ‘sets record straight’

A woman who filmed a disturbance on a Stagecoach bus on Friday spoke to the ECHO to “set the record straight” about what happened.

Yesterday, June 18, we reported that three men had been thrown from a Stagecoach bus on Friday evening, June 14. Police attended the scene on Whitefield Drive, near the Johnny Todd pub in Kirkby, and detained the three men who had been ejected from the bus. . We understand that the bus service in question was the number 20 bus, not the 17 as previously reported.

A video seen by the ECHO appears to show three men pushing a man, believed to be a bus driver, as women and children run to the back of the bus to escape the violence.

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Merseyside Police confirmed to the ECHO that officers were contacted just after 6pm following reports of a disturbance on a Stagecoach bus.

The ECHO was initially contacted with allegations of an attempted kidnapping. However, a spokesman for Merseyside Police told the ECHO: “Contrary to suggestions on social media, we have not had any reports of an attempted abduction and we would ask people not to speculate.”

In an interview with the ECHO, the woman who filmed the incident, professional photographer Stacey Farley, 44, agreed there was no attempted abduction on the bus. However, after witnessing the episode from start to finish, she wanted to tell people what she saw happen.

Mother-of-two Stacey was traveling alone on the single-decker bus on her way home from work on Friday night. He sat next to a teenage girl, who was sitting next to her mother. A man was standing directly in front of them, who Stacey claims was “acting weird”.

She said: “He was standing at the front but he was facing them (the mother and daughter), looking at them. It was very strange. They tried to ignore him, but he kept getting closer and pushing the boundaries of personal space. .”

She continued: “The next thing I know, the mother had slapped the man’s hand off her daughter and started shouting at him to get away.”

According to Stacey, the man began filming the mother and her daughter. She claims the mother “slapped the phone” and hit the man’s friend, who was sitting nearby. The mother reportedly “started yelling” at the driver to stop the bus, then shielded her daughter as they walked through the vehicle to get to the front.

Stacey claims the man “took something out of her bag and threw it at her (the mother)”. At this point, she said, things “really took off.”

She said: “It seemed to really scare everyone on the bus. That’s when I started filming.”

Stacey’s video appears to show three men in front of the bus. Although two appear to have left by the time the video was recorded, the third man appears to push a man understood to be the bus driver. A woman dressed in black is heard telling the man: “Go, get off the bus. This is absolutely ridiculous, just go. There are women and children, just for the hell of it.”

As the suspect is forced off the bus, he slams his hand, while holding his phone, into a plastic window. As he leaves the bus, a voice is heard saying “he thinks it’s a tough case”. After being pushed away from the bus, he picks up his phone from the ground and throws it at the man who threw it.

There is a loud bang, but the video does not show whether the phone made contact with the man or a window. People start yelling and screaming and pushing towards the front of the bus, while others shout to close the door.

A woman appears to be calling the police and can be heard saying: “We’re on the bus and we’re being attacked.” Another person says “we have a baby here”. An altercation appears to continue outside the bus, close to two young mothers with strollers.

According to Stacey, everyone then got off the bus and the driver waited for the police to arrive. She said she found the whole episode “disturbing” and “scary” and had never experienced this type of incident on public transport before.

Merseyside Police said: “No one has identified themselves to officers at the scene or come forward since to report being the victim of any crime and inquiries remain ongoing.”

A spokesman for Stagecoach told the ECHO: “We are aware of an isolated incident which occurred on board our 17 service on Friday 14 June. It’s important that customers feel comfortable on their journeys and we take anti-social behavior very seriously. We are grateful to our driver for his assistance and alerting the authorities.

“Where it is safe and necessary to do so, our drivers will do everything they reasonably can to ensure the comfort and safety of our customers. The incident has been reported to Merseyside Police and we will be working with them to identify those involved.”

Anyone with information is asked to DM @MerPolCC or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 quoting reference 24000530929.

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