POLICE are hunting vandals who wrecked bus stops in the Boscombe area causing thousands of pounds worth of damage.

Bus users were put at risk as they were forced to wait at shelters filled with broken glass.

The damage was reported to police just after midnight on Saturday morning and is believed to have taken place on Friday night.

Shelters affected include one at the rear of the Sovereign Centre in Centenary Way, another at Boscombe Gardens and one outside St John’s church in Christchurch Road.

A spokesman for Dorset Police said: “We received a report at 12.08am on Saturday, June 8, reporting criminal damage to three bus stops in the Boscombe area.

“The local authority was contacted in relation to glass on the road and inquiries into the incident are ongoing. No arrests have been made.”

David Squire, managing director of Yellow Buses, has slammed the vandals who caused the damage.

“This mindless vandalism affects passengers waiting for buses and doesn’t show the town in a positive light to visitors,” Mr Squire said.

“We are responsible for operating bus services and the bus shelter infrastructure is provided by BCP Council, which is usually pretty quick to respond to issues such as this.”

Richard Wade, operations manager for Morebus, said vandalism to bus shelters was “a rare occurrence”.

“It’s disappointing and concerning that the actions of a mindless person or group of people have resulted in damaged waiting areas for our passengers, and broken glass affecting other pavement users as well,” he said.

The Daily Echo contacted BCP Council for a comment but they did not give a response at the time of going to press.

n As well as smashing bus stop shelters, vandals have caused trouble in the past by damaging bus windows too.

In December Morebus was forced to suspend its services in the Turlin Moor housing estate after one of its vehicles was targeted by thugs twice in the same day.

The window of a single-decker was smashed, although no passengers were injured in the attack.

And in August, another Morebus service was targeted in Poole.

On that occasion, vandals smashed one of the windows as the bus drove along Alder Road.

No-one was injured in the incident, but a number of passengers were seated next to the window at the time.