Bus firm pulls out of Kilmarnock station over safety fears

A bus operator has said it will no longer run evening services from Kilmarnock Bus Station due to anti-social behaviour.

Stagecoach said it would amend services after 18:00 for the foreseeable future.

East Ayrshire councillor Barry Douglas said incidents involving "gangs of youths" had been going on for a while but had "escalated in recent days".

He said they included passengers and staff being intimidated and threatened, vandalism and reports of assaults.

Mr Douglas said people were telling him "enough is enough".

"By Stagecoach taking this action it is certainly ensuring the problems being experienced are highlighted to the wider community," he said.

A spokeswoman for Stagecoach West Scotland said: "We have recently been experiencing some anti-social behaviour and safety-related issues at Kilmarnock Bus Station, and so reluctantly we have taken the decision to stop serving the station after 6pm.

"This decision has only been taken due to the continued issues we have experienced with individuals jeopardising the safety of both our customers and employees."

"We are sorry that we have had to put this measure in place due to the behaviour of a small group of individuals."

Stagecoach said it was working with East Ayrshire Council and Police Scotland to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.

A Police Scotland spokeswoman said: "We are aware of a number of incidents of anti-social behaviour in the Kilmarnock Town Centre area and we will continue to work with partners to minimise any disruption to the community.

"We will have additional patrols in the area to identify anyone involved in this behaviour and would ask anyone who has any concerns to get in touch with police."

The bus operator said the measures would be reviewed on an ongoing basis and alternative bus stops around Kilmarnock would be in use after 6pm.