Paul Fuller, 42, left a school bus full of children screaming after he threatened to ‘smash the driver’s f****** head in’ before taking a brick to the window of the vehicle
A crazed dad was caught on camera drunkenly smashing a school bus packed with children in a fit of rage after he was denied a lift on the vehicle.
Paul Fuller wondered into the middle of a busy street and demanded to board the Sittingbourne, Kent, school service, which had become stuck in traffic, while “extremely intoxicated” on April 22 last year. Instead of walking away after being denied a ride, however, a court heard the 42-year-old became violent, and punched at the bus’ windscreen.
A video taken at the scene from the dashcam of a passing car showed the dad beating at the window multiple times, moments before he picked up a brick and shattered the glass.
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Kent Online reports Medway Magistrates’ Court heard that Fuller had also threatened to “smash the driver’s f****** head in”, leaving children screaming in fear. The brave driver was later able to direct the bus away as Fuller launched his drunken assault, and the dad was later arrested and charged with assault and criminal damage.
He admitted the charges as he appeared in court last November, wih prosecutor Cictoria Aked recounting the “odd” incident to the bench.
She said: “He started banging on the closed door, saying, ‘Let me on’, which was odd because it was a school bus. He banged on the door again and said to the driver, ‘I will smash your head in, f*** you and your tattoos’.” She added that during the “aggressive” attack, Fuller had shouted: “You’re not going home to your family.”
Some of the children could be heard screaming “he’s got a brick” as he prepared to smash the window, with pictures showing the shattered window after he launched his attack.
Despite the distress, the hero bus driver was later able to finish his school run, but he said in a victim impact statement that he had to have glass splinters removed from his lef with tweezers afterwards. Months following the incident, he said, some shards continue to pop out.
He has been left with severe anxiety, for which he was already taking medication before the incident, and not wanting to return to his job. The driver said: “It was a school bus, and it was full of children, but he was willing to smash me round the head. I look over my shoulder when I’m out, as I am worried I might see him.”
Fuller told police he felt bad about that he had done, and regretted his actions, but Ms Asked told the court he had been convicted of crominal damage a month prior to the incident.
A probation officer who interviewed Fuller ahead of the hearing said he had admitted being extremely intoxicated on the day, and added he was now off alcohol after referring himself to a support service. Fuller told the court had had been struggling over the last year due to a relationship breakdown, which had led him to drink more.
He said: “I’ve had lots of problems and stress. I lashed out. I’ve been a fool. This year, I’ve been trying to bring it all back together. I am disappointed in myself. I have a son, a mortgage, and I am disappointed and not proud.”
Fuller was handed an 18-week jail sentence, suspended for 12 months, ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work, pay a victim surcharge of £154 and £85 in court costs. He was also ordered to pay the bus driver £300 in compensation, and the bus company, Travel Masters, £150 to repair the window.
