A BUS company says lots of teenagers are risking their lives by hanging off the back of its vehicles.

Yesterday, The Argus carried a story about a group of youths who shocked a motorist by climbing on to the back of the bus in front of her as it waited at a red light in Eastern Road, Kemp Town, Brighton.

Brighton and Hove Buses’ managing director Martin Harris said: “There appears to have been a spate of this behaviour, recently.

“It’s an incredibly dangerous thing to do and I’m imploring people not to try it under any circumstances.

"Don’t put your life at risk for the sake of a stupid dare and wreck Christmas for yourself, or your family.”

Argus readers including Brighton and Hove Buses driver Jamie Parsons criticised the teenagers’ behaviour.

He said: “This happens all the time, we get radio calls through regularly and it’s another distraction for us when we’re concentrating on the road ahead.

“Unfortunately, it’s only going to be a matter of time before a bus is going to have to swerve or suddenly brake and someone cracks their head open and gets seriously injured or dies.”

There is CCTV on the back of the buses for drivers to use when reversing.

However, this can be downloaded and the company said it may be able to identify the culprits from the footage.

Brighton and Hove Buses’ police liaison officer PC Jay Jackson said: “If a driver is aware that this is happening they will stop the bus immediately and call our response team and the police.

“Young people are risking life and limb by doing this and I’m asking them to think about how serious this could be, for themselves and for their families.

“If you do see this happening, please report it immediately to the police on 999. 

“The police will also ensure that our police liaison officer and our control room know about any incident, if they aren’t already aware of it.”