A BUS windscreen was left shattered after a yob ran towards the vehicle and headbutted it in a bizarre broad daylight attack.
The police are investigating after the brazen act left passengers shaken up as they travelled through Queen Street in Colchester city centre.
A First Essex spokesman said nobody onboard was injured but confirmed the vehicle suffered extensive damage.
He added: “We experienced an incident of anti-social behaviour in Queen Street on May 22, resulting in the windscreen of the bus being broken.
“No injuries were sustained to the passenger or travelling passengers. The police attended the scene.”
It is understood the man ran directly towards the bus before launching his odd attack at about noon.
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A police spokesman added: “If you have any information, CCTV, dash cam or other footage in relation to this incident, then please get in contact with us.”
Castle councillor Steph Nissen said the incident ties in with a “recent spate of low level violent activities” in the city centre.
“It must have been quite frightening, particularly for younger kids or vulnerable people onboard,” she said.
“I do wonder if this is a sign of a person who is struggling and they did this rather than taking further measures in getting support, which I would encourage them to do.
“But it should be made clear that you do not go around smacking your head into buses no matter what is going on in your life.”
At the back end of last year, First Essex’s staff manager Kai Wilson said its fleet had seen a rise in attacks towards both drivers and vehicles.
He warned journeys could be cancelled at short notice if incidents continued and threw doubt over the future of some routes across the borough.
Ms Nissen called on the operator to ensure any response to incidents is “proportionate” to the crimes and the rarity in which they occur.
She added: “We are already underserved and I think it would be completely unacceptable if this was used as a justification for cutting services back further.”
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