A bus driver was robbed at knifepoint by a drug-crazed thug who tried to stab him in front of shocked passengers.
He was driving in Choppington, in Northumberland, in May this year when he was flagged down by Gavin Mullen, who asked about a bus to Cramlington. But his true intentions were to rob the driver.
When he got onto the bus the driver noticed he was armed with a Stanley knife so he pulled down a perspex screen to try to protect himself. Jessica Slaughter, prosecuting, told Newcastle Crown Court : "The screen has a gap at the bottom, a six inch gap which the defendant tried to stab him by poking the knife underneath and demanded money from him."
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As Mullen shouted 'give us your f****** money', the driver tried to activate a panic alarm but it didn't work so he sounded his horn. Miss Slaughter said: "This angered the defendant, who grabbed his phone from under the screen.
"The bus driver pushed the door open and tried to grab the defendant but was unable to retrieve his phone. The defendant then punched him to the face, causing him to become disoriented. He then found the defendant had stolen money and the machine the money was stored in." The machine was worth £100 and there was £37 cash in it and the phone was worth £1,000.
The court heard there were eight passengers on the bus at the time, some of whom called police. The driver was left with cuts to his thumb and finger, soreness to his back and arm and bruising to the bridge of his nose.
He said in a victim impact statement: "I genuinely believe he was trying to stab me. He was clearly desperate and wanted money. At the time I was annoyed and wanted my phone back because it had pictures of my kids on it which were of huge sentimental value.
"Since I've had time to think about it I'm terrified about what happened." He said he had weeks off work and considered changing his employment as a result of what happened as it affected his confidence and left him worried it might happen again.
Mullen, 25, of Hunns Buildings, Choppington, was arrested the following day. He had to be taken to Cramlington Hospital, where he attempted to escape by climbing into the ceiling space above a toilet cubicle, where he remained for some time and was armed with a metal pole and had wrapped wire around his neck.
Later, at the police station, he caused damage to a computer mouse. Mullen, who has nine previous convictions, pleaded guilty to robbery, having a bladed article and two counts of criminal damage. He was jailed for four years.
He also admitted criminal damage at his then pregnant partner's home in the early hours in October 2020, smashing a window to gain entry to her home while she and their son were asleep. He also punched a TV and pulled it off the wall and he also damaged some drawers. The total value of the damage was £260.
Tony Cornberg, defending, said he is now free of drugs and drink, is remorseful and has found work in waste management in prison.
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