Sitemap
Lisa Hodge • Published 14 Aug 2010 14:00
A TRAIN conductor feared he could be left blind after a schoolgirl fired a laser beam at his eyes.
The youngster - thought to be around 14 years old - shone the beam directly into the eyes of the 35-year-old male ticket examiner during an incident at Port Glasgow rail station, above, on Thursday night.
The girl was loitering on the platform with around 10 other youths at 9.40pm when she carried out the dangerous act.
The 9.05pm service from Glasgow Central to Gourock was just pulling away from the station when the conductor said the teenager singled him out and directed the light into his eyes.
Terrified his vision may have been severely damaged in the attack, the conductor needed to be checked over at Inverclyde Royal Hospital.
After an examination by medics, his injuries were not found to be serious.
British Transport Police today branded the girl ‘reckless’ and appealed for witnesses to come forward.
David Hodgson, from BTP, said: “This was an extremely reckless act on an innocent person doing his job.
“Luckily, in this instance, the victim suffered no serious injury.
“But the simple fact is, anti-social behaviour of this sort will not be tolerated.
“The conductor was on the train at the time of the incident and the teenager was on the platform. We don’t know whether she was planning to get on the train and maybe changed her mind afterwards.
“We are appealing for people to come forward and tell us what they know so we can catch her before someone does get seriously hurt.”
The teenager is described as being around 14 years old, with long dark hair in a ponytail. She was wearing denims and a dark hooded top.
Anyone with information regarding the identity of the girl should contact British Transport Police on 0800 40 50 40. Alternatively, they can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
This article appeared in Greenock Telegraph 14 Aug 10
Return to the main index, get more from this section or browse our News archives.
Talk of the Towns
Your social, local Business Directory - It's in Inverclyde | It's in The Directory | Directory Network
Copyright ©2012 Greenock Telegraph, 2 Crawfurd Street Greenock PA15 1LH • Tel: 01475 726511 • Fax: 01475 783734
