Window shot at on school bus (From Warrington Guardian)

Window shot at on school bus

AN 'appalling' response came from the police when a bus normally packed with school kids had a window shot out with an air rifle.

Despite two emergency calls, it took around 40 minutes for a police officer to show up - and he had not been told a firearm was involved.

When the armed response team arrived from Widnes they had to wait for permission to get involved.

The end result was more than three hours after the bus was shot in Kingsway South, Westy, no police officers had done anything more than drive past the suspected shooter's location.

"This is appalling. It's frightening," said Lorraine Franklin, managing director of the bus company, Fairbrothers Limited.

"Children are going to die if nothing gets done."

One of the company's drivers

John Fairnington said: "The most worrying thing is this bus should have been full of kids on their way to the swimming baths."

The bus was shot at at around 10.25am on Tuesday. The bus driver saw a group of people in a window in Kingsway House about 20 yards away, with what looked like a gun.

A BB pellet was later found on the bus and the flat was unsuccessfully searched at 2pm.

The police said they were not told that a gun was involved at first.

A police spokesman said they deployed the appropriate resources as they received the information and dealt with the incident correctly. Tests will now be carried out on the pellet.