Man wanted after bus driver spat at in Wembley

The incident happened on Friday night on the number 83 bus

A man is being sought by police after a bus driver was spat at.

It happened on a number 83 bus near Wembley, north-west London, at about 22:40 BST on Friday, Met Police said.

When he got on the bus, the passenger agreed to put a mask on when the driver asked him to but he took it off when he sat down on the upper level.

When the driver told him he would have to get off the bus if he refused to wear a mask, the passenger shouted at him and spat in his direction.

Face masks are no longer required by law on public transport after the remaining coronavirus restrictions in England were lifted, but they are required as a "condition of carriage" on Transport for London (TfL) services.

This means passengers can be denied access or ejected from services if they do not wear one and do not have a valid exemption.

Matt Cannon, from the Met's Roads and Transport Policing Command, said: "Bus drivers have worked throughout the pandemic at great risk to themselves, providing an essential service to key workers and others who rely on public transport to get around.

"Any assault against a driver doing their job is unacceptable, but spitting, given the threat posed by Covid-19 and what we know about how it is transmitted, is particularly appalling.

"We have been pursuing alternative lines of inquiry to identify this man, but so far it has not been possible to locate him. I'm hopeful the public hold the key to finding out who and where he is."