Worthing man kicked in head in vicious assault on bus

Toby Doyle, 30, from Worthing, had been out with his girlfriend in Brighton before getting a “packed” Stagecoach 700 night bus at around 3am.

He said a big group of people boarded the busy bus and one man was standing near his girlfriend.

Toby said: “The guy made a comment to my girlfriend. She didn’t hear what was said because she had her headphones in, but I told him to leave her alone. He put his head down and left it at that.”

He said the man went upstairs to join his friends, but returned half an hour later and launched an attack.

Toby said: “They came down from upstairs and three of them started attacking me.

“The bus stopped between stops, just before my house - I was only a few minutes from home.

"I can't remember if I was dragged off the bus or tried to escape but they then started attacking me off the bus, while my girlfriend was grabbing them and trying to get them to stop.

“I must have got kicked ten to 15 times in the head and punched. I took quite a beating.”

Toby Doyle was kicked in the head and punched in the attack (Image: Toby Doyle)

He said no one on the packed bus went to his aid.

Toby and his girlfriend were able to escape and make it to their home, where they called the police.

Almost a month after the vicious attack on October 30, Toby said he is still trying to recover.

He said: “I’m still blowing thick blood out of my nose and I was sick this morning. I still can’t eat properly - I have to eat out of the right-hand side of my mouth. I’m having to chew like a rabbit to eat.

“The worst thing about it is that I have to get on that bus every morning to get to work and I have to go past the place where that happened to me.

“I don’t think I should be going to work with some of the moods I’m in - I don’t feel safe in public.”

Toby suffered cuts to his head after the attack (Image: Toby Doyle)

A spokesman for Stagecoach said: “We can confirm we are assisting the police with their enquiries into the nature of the incident on one of our buses and the full circumstances involved.”

A police spokesman said: "Sussex Police received a report at 3.45am on Sunday, October 30, of a man having been assaulted at a bus stop in Brighton Road in Worthing.

"An investigation is ongoing and officers remain in regular contact with the victim."