Vandals wreck bus stops along 7-mile route into Bristol

Vandals wrecked a series of bus shelters along a seven-mile stretch of the A4 into Bristol.

They sprayed graffiti, cracked glass, smashed lights and ripped timetables out of shelters along the showcase bus route on the A4 from Saltford to Totterdown.

Transport campaigner Dave Redgewell, who spotted the damage from the X39 service from Bristol to Bath, believes repairs will cost thousands of pounds.

"The route has a lot of new shelters and stops. Some of them were only put in during the last few weeks," he said.

"About 10 or 11 bus shelters have been vandalised. It's disgraceful and it will cost a quite a few thousand pounds to put right. Each shelter can cost between £3,000 and £10,000."

Mr Redgewell, a spokesman for the Campaign for Better Transport, which represents bus passengers, believes the vandalism took place on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings.

"This will put people off using the buses. At the moment I wouldn't feel safe waiting for the bus at the stop outside McDonald's in Brislington or at the stop in Brislington village," he said.

"These vandals have taken out the shelters along a whole bus corridor in one fell swoop over two days. It's wanton vandalism and these people have gone to the trouble of doing it."

The shelters are the responsibility of Bristol City Council and Bath and North East Somerset Council.

A Bath and North East Somerset Council spokesman said: "The council is in the process of repairing the damaged shelters and this will be done as soon as possible."

"We have been contacted by a member of the public to advise of damage and graffiti to a number of bus shelters along this route," said Bristol City Council spokesman Pete Wood.

Mr Wood said Bristol City Council sent an inspector to look into the situation on the road today, and would be talking to the contractor that maintains the shelters.