Pensioners' bus attacked with breeze block

Day care patients suffering from Alzheimer's Disease travelling home from the Waterside were left in shock after a portion of a breeze block was hurled at the windscreen of their bus. The incident took place shortly after 4pm on Monday as the patients were being left home to the Creggan estate.

The mindless attack is being attributed to dissident republican supporters who had just attended a Real IRA Easter rally at the City Cemetery. At around 3.45pm a group of young people threw a petrol bomb onto the road close to St Mary's Church in the estate and pulled hoarding across the road. It also understood that attempts were made to hijack a Translink bus at this point.

Then, at approximately 4.15pm the private bus ferrying four patients with dementia had its windscreen smashed by a mob of youths.

The patients and a small number of staff were travelling through Creggan from the Fold Housing Association Day Care Centre, based at Sevenoaks, close to the Crescent Link area of the Waterside, when the attack took place. The care centre specialises in looking after those suffering from Alzheimers Disease. Fortunately no one was injured in the incident.

Driver, Pauline Spence said: "I was so shocked, really really shocked."

She said the youth who threw the brick was aged between 10 and 12 years-old, adding: "We had four elderly ladies in the back of the bus and their only concern was for me and my only concern was getting them away...I instantly went back to those days' would they take the bus off us?'"

She added that, while this would affect her if she came across a crowd again, she would not be deterred from continuing to provide a service for the clients.

Thelma Moore, senior manager at the care facility told the Sentinel: "The patients were obviously very shocked and their confusion was increased because of this. The front windscreen was hit on the right hand side. It didn't shatter but there is a significant crack.

"This bus travels through Creggan five days a week and is easily recogniseable as bus for elderly people. It is shocking that anyone would attempt to damage it.

"We will be assessing the situation and if the driver or staff encounter another situation like this we will turn back so as not to endanger the passengers, driver or carers on the bus."

SDLP Councillor for the area, Jimmy Clifford, was scathing in his condemnation of the attack. "This has to be utterly condemned. What are they going to next, start digging up graves? These people are morons. Those travelling on that bus have enough to worry about without being subjected to this," he said.

The attack took place after a crowd, estimated at 300, listened to representatives of the political wing of the Real IRA, the 32 County Sovereignty Movement (32 CSM), vow to escalate their 'war' in the coming year. Former leading Provisional IRA member, Marion Price, convicted in 1973 of bombing the Old Bailey court in London, but who has defected to dissident republicanism, told the gathering: "Our intellectual opposition to the current structures must be matched with action on the ground to leave people in no doubt that 1916 is unfinished business. We need to act now, we cannot wait any longer."

UUP Alderman Mary Hamilton told the Sentinel she believed the inflammatory nature of the republican speech "gave the green light to young people to go out and behave in that manner."

"I totally condemn this. It doesn't matter who was on the bus, there is no excuse for what took place. These people need to think before they act."

The PSNI confirmed that they are investigating a number of incidents that took place in Creggan on Monday afternoon. In a statement a spokesman said: "Anyone with information should contact police by calling 08456008000. Alternatively information about crime can be passed anonymously to the Crimestoppers charity on 0800555111."