A WEST FIFE bus firm says a passenger was lucky not to suffer serious injury after a brick was thrown at a vehicle on Sunday evening.

The incident in Blairhall has led to bus services in the village being withdrawn by Bay Travel, who say staff and passenger safety is their main priority.

Posting on Facebook after the incident, which happened on the B9037 going through the village, a statement said: "There was a passenger sitting behind this window who is lucky not to have been seriously hurt. As a company, we don't want to be pulling the service, but I'm sure you will all agree this is extremely dangerous for passengers and staff."

Commenting on the post, the driver of the bus said the "noise alone" caused by the youths was "extremely frightening" when trying to control a bus.

He added: "If the brick had been thrown a few seconds earlier it would have gone through the driver's cab and the consequences of a driver knocked unconscious on a moving bus is a very serious matter indeed."

An update on social media the following day added: "Due to recent events, and further anti-social behaviour again tonight, service 4B/C will not serve Blairhall for the rest of the evening. We apologise for the inconvenience this may cause, but staff and passenger safety is our number one priority at all times."

The 4B/C service will now only operate as far as Comrie until further notice on the Monday to Saturday timetable. The Sunday service will remain in place, however, the last service for Blairhall will depart Dunfermline bus station at 5.45pm. The service will only go to Comrie for the remainder of the evening.

Bay Travel's managing director, Iain Robertson, confirmed they had taken the action after experiencing incidents of vandalism and anti-social behaviour towards their vehicle and drivers in Blairhall.

He added: "We have been working closely with Fife police and Fife Council to try and rectify the problems and serve the community safely but the behaviour has been getting gradually worse over the last few weeks so until we can find a solution, we are now unfortunately having to withdraw the service from Blairhall to protect our passengers and staff."

Last week, the Press reported that police had seen an increase in vandalism and theft in Blairhall, which they said was being committed largely by young teens.

In their recent newsletter, South West Fife Police wrote: "The entire policing team at South West Fife will be giving the area extra attention over coming weeks and there will be zero tolerance for anti-social behaviour. This pattern of behaviour has to stop, and we appeal to the community to assist us."