A PENSIONER suffered a suspected heart attack after being hit by a missile hurled through the window of a packed bus yesterday.

The 66-year-old man collapsed and was taken to hospital after he was hit on the head by the object - believed to be a baseball - as the bus stopped in Red House, Sunderland.

Inspector Pat McDonald, of Sunderland City police, said: "At the end of the day, he could have been killed."

The Stagecoach number 15 bus came under fire as it stopped in Ramsgate Road, shortly after 5pm.

As the pensioner stood up to get off at the stop, which is near his home, the missile shattered a side window and struck him, showering terrified passengers with glass.

Two teams of paramedics treated the victim at the scene, before taking him to Sunderland Royal Hospital where he was detained. He has not been named.

Last night, police carried out house-to-house inquiries in Ramsgate Road and forensic officers are today expected to examine the bus at Stagecoach's Wheatsheaf depot.

A spokesman for Stagecoach said: "Stagecoach is working with local authorities to combat this kind of problem. We do have a problem, particularly in this area, with missiles being thrown through the windows of buses."

Stagecoach threatened to boycott evening services on some Wearside estates last year after a spate of violent attacks.

The company issued the threat to create Sunderland blackspots after its vehicles come under fire in attacks in Southwick, Hall Farm, Grindon and Thorney Close.

The region's biggest bus operator Go North East has also revealed at least ten of its coaches a week are coming under fire.