Two knife-wielding thugs attacked a bus driver last night forcing him to smash into the window of a newsagent in Croydon.

About 27 people are believed to have been on board the 250 bus travelling down Parchmore Road towards Thornton Heath last night at 10pm.

Two youths, described as black males aged about 18, threatened the bus driver with a knife and also threw a fruit drink over his cab.

It is believed that they were trying to get his cash box.

This caused him to crash the double decker vehicle through the window of Yogi News, which is on the corner of Parchmore Road and Beulah Road.

Miraculously, no one was hurt in the incident.

The owner of the shop, Mr Ravin Patel, 51, said he was still waiting for confirmation from the insurers on how much damage had been done to his shop but estimated it at over £16,000.

His daughter Dr Hannah Patel, a GP from Crawley, took the day off work to help her parents deal with the disaster.

“We don’t live too far away from the shop.

"My sister heard a bang in the background last night.

"We are quite well known in the area so people came running down the road to tell us what had happened.

“We were told that the driver of a double decker bus was being threatened by some kids on the bus.

“He mounted the pavement and then smashed right into the shop at the back.

“He smashed the window, ripped off the shutters and drove right into the shop.

"The electrics, the face of the shop, the goods that he ran over, everything was destroyed.

“Because it was a double decker they were worried that some structural damage had occurred and people were evacuated from the flats above the shop but they are back there now."

Dr Patel, 29, said that her parents were devastated. “My mother Divya was just distraught when she saw what had happened,” she said.

The family were still trading today out of the front of their shop but Dr Patel said the back was completely sealed off.

Councillor Steve O'Connell, Croydon's London Assembley representative, said: “This a terrible low in criminality.

"These rampaging thugs are modern day highwaymen who tried to stab a bus driver in the head and maintained their attack even as the bus went through a red light, careered into a car on the other side of the road with the driver inside and came to a halt when it smashed into the front of a newsagents.

“This is absolutely outrageous.

"I believe the public will be appalled by this attack on a man who was just doing his job and who by their actions endangered the lives of many completely innocent people.

“I will be seeking assurances from Boris Johnson that all that can be done is being done to catch these men.”

A police spokesman said: “Police were called at 10.10pm on March 11 to reports of a bus driver being threatened with a knife whilst driving a bus in Parchmore Road, Thornton Heath.

“The suspects also threw a liquid over the driver's cab, believed to be a fruit drink.

“The bus was subsequently in collision with a shop front in Parchmore Road.

“There were no injuries to the driver or any of the passengers.

“Two suspects subsequently got off the bus, they are described as black males, aged approximately 18 years.

They added: "The bus involved was a number 250 travelling towards Thornton Heath.

"There were a number of passengers on board and several witnesses in the area at the time of the incident and we would appeal for them to come forward with any information that may assist the investigation."

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