A GANG of yobs hurled missiles and projectiles through the window of a moving bus near Southend Airport.

Eyewitness claim the five hooded youths threw apples and then stones at cars and smashed a side passenger window of an Arriva bus travelling along St Laurence Way at 6.05pm on Tuesday.

A spokesman for Essex Police said: “We were called with reports of a group of people throwing stones at a bus.

“If you have any information please call us on 101 quoting incident 1055 of 1 October or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”

Councillor Daniel Cowan, who represents the ward, slammed the “unacceptable behaviour”

He added: “They probably think it’s funny to do something like this.

“It isn’t funny, clever, or being tough.

“There’s being a child and being allowed to play, and then being immature.

“Things like this can cause serious damage and distract the driver. It may have only been a small stone but that can cause huge amounts of damage.

“Incidents like this are dangerous at any time of year, but especially as we’re moving into Autumn, the roads are becoming increasingly wet and slippery. The weather was particularly bad on Tuesday night. It has potentially serious consequences.

“It’s really worrying.

“Schools need to be talking to their pupils in assembly about the dangers of these things.

“I will be reminding them.

“I hope that the police catch and remand whoever was responsible.”

An Arriva spokesperson said: “We can confirm there was an incident involving one of our buses on St. Laurence Way, at the back of Southend Airport.

“We have launched a full investigation to determine what happened.”

Fortunately nobody is believed to have been hurt.

The bus attack follows a number of previous incidents across south Essex.