STORIES of teenagers who risk their lives bus surfing – clinging on to the back of a bus – are not new.

We report again today on three youths who were filmed riding on the back of an Arriva bus in Darlington town centre.

While they thought they were getting their laughs, what they failed to take on board were the consequences their actions have on the bus driver, passengers, as well as other road users.

Bus surfing is an increasingly popular phenomenon, with wannabe daredevils uploading videos of their exploits to the internet.

What we appear to have is a generation that will grow up with the fact that other than their parents, who we hope have told have told them, “no you cannot do that”, there appears to be no one to challenge them.

Police are just not able to patrol the town centre 24/7 and schools can be frightened to lay down the law without being accused of bullying.

If these youngsters had fallen from the bus and died or suffered serious injury then the general public would be quick to blame the driver. Had they fallen off and there been a vehicle coming up the road, the outcome could have been horrendous.

Luckily, both the town centre and the buses are covered by CCTV, so identifying the “surfers” should be more straightforward than hanging on to the back of a bus. Stupidity aside, we are relieved that neither them or anyone else was hurt by the stunt, but risking lives for kicks is not tolerable behaviour.