Brave Scottish coach driver vows to continue with his job despite needle attack

coach driver faces agonizing wait for test results after being attacked by a passenger with a needle

A coach driver from Dumbarton, Scotland, has vowed to continue doing the job he loves, despite having recently come under attack from a passenger with a hypodermic syringe.

The 40-year-old driver, James McGowan, was behind the wheel of a McColl’s Coach when the attack took place on January 11^th. The coach was en-route travelling from Glasgow to Balloch when a passenger boarded the vehicle at Redburn, Bonhill. The man demanded to be taken to the Vale, but when the driver informed him that the service didn’t stop there, he stabbed him in the hand with the needle.

Describing the moment when the unprovoked attack happened, the father-of-four said, “I didn’t see the whole thing and I didn’t see if the syringe had anything in it, but it was definitely a needle.”

Despite his order, Mr McGowan didn’t let the incident get him down, and was back in work at McColls Coaches the following morning. However he now faces an agonising 6 month wait to receive the results of his blood test. There is a chance that the needle which was used in the attack, could have been contaminated with HIV or the Hepatitis C virus.

Following the incident, the coach drive was taken to the Alexandria Hospital in Paisley where he was given jabs, and had blood tests taken.

The police are continuing to search for the suspect who attacked the McColls Coaches driver. The man has been described as white, aged between 20-25, 5ft 10inches tall, unshaven with dark/black coloured hair. He was also said to have been wearing a black bomber style jacket.