A BARROW man has been found guilty of threatening a bus driver.

A court heard David Gillam, 39, was travelling on the number six Stagecoach bus heading towards Barrow on October 29 last year when he caused two young females on board to feel ‘uncomfortable’.

Prosecutor Martin Turner said the bus driver asked the defendant to leave the bus to which Gillam replied: ‘Hey baldy, I am going to smash your head in’.

Giving evidence to the court, the bus driver said he noticed the defendant ‘acting a little strange’ after he had paid for his ticket.

He told the court: “The male turned to a young girl with a small child in a pram. I thought he knew her. He then sat down and then proceeded to start lifting and stretching his legs out across a seat.

“He then stood up and walked towards the back of the bus. There was a young girl who asked the man if he wouldn’t mind sitting somewhere else as his behaviour was unsettling her.”

The bus driver told the court he was forced to bring the vehicle to a stop on Newton Road in Dalton after the woman had directly complained to him about the defendant’s behaviour.

“I asked him to leave the bus as he was upsetting my passengers,” the bus driver explained.

“When he refused, I said I was left with no other option but to call the police.

“The police arrived and I was stood outside with the two girls when he threatened me. He did not want to play ball.”

The bus driver said he felt ‘shocked’ and that he feared something could have happened if an officer had not been there.

He told the court: “He seemed to be aggressive as if he would have assaulted me. I believe he was drunk. I can understand why his behaviour would have been concerning for the two girls.”

PCSO Michelle Jones attended the scene to assess the situation before following the defendant.

She told the court Gillam continued to shout and use abusive language.

She said he then began urinating on a wall over flowers.

As a result, he was arrested by PC Mia Fairclough, but resisted arrest as she was doing so.

The defendant, of St Quintin Street in Barrow, pleaded guilty to obstructing the officer at an earlier hearing.

He was due to stand trial at South Cumbria Magistrates Court on Tuesday for two counts of using threatening/abusive / insulting words/behaviour to cause harassment/alarm / distress contrary to Section 4A and Section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986. He did not appear and was convicted in his absence.

District Judge John Temperley said the two witnesses were both credible and truthful and convicted Gillam of both offences.

He will be sentenced at a later date.