A BUS driver threatened by a group of youths and fireworks thrown into a public park by four teenagers has prompted police to urge parents to “take responsibility” for disgraceful behaviour.

The spate of crimes, which took place in Darlington town centre on Saturday and Sunday, led to the driver of a bus left ‘shaken’ in one incident.

In a desperate plea to prevent continued bad behaviour, Inspector Chris Knox of the Darlington Neighbourhood Police Team said the incidents were not "acceptable" and would not be tolerated by the force.

He said: “Threatening bus drivers who are simply doing their job is not acceptable, and neither is throwing fireworks in a public park, in the middle of the afternoon when children are around.

“The parents of the teenagers involved in these incidents need to take some responsibility for the actions of their children – it is completely unacceptable behaviour and we will not tolerate it.”

On Sunday, a group of youths were witnessed threatening the driver of an Arriva bus, which was parked up outside Burger King on Prebend Row.

At around 8pm, the youths repeatedly pressed the bus’ emergency button preventing the service from moving, before going on to make threats of physical assault.

Insp Knox said: “The driver of the bus was visibly shaken when officers arrived on scene.

"We are reviewing the CCTV from the bus and local authority CCTV and will be paying a visit to those who we identify as being involved in the incident.”

The day previous, four teenagers were seen throwing fireworks into the public park on Emley Moor Road, which posed an immediate risk of injury to members of the public.

Insp Knox added: “This is not just a case of ‘kids being kids’ – throwing items at moving cars can have serious, and potentially fatal consequences.

“We have names of those who were throwing the fireworks so will be taking action against them as well.

"I would urge parents to take some responsibility for the actions of their children and teach them that this is not acceptable behaviour.”

  • Anyone with any information on anti-social behaviour is asked to contact Durham Police on 101.