A BUS driver subjected to a series of horrific attacks has insisted he will carry on driving.

Earlier this week, the Daily Echo reported how Wilts & Dorset driver Kevin Sanderson, 57, was pelted with bricks and stones when he got out of his bus to restart the engine after yobs triggered the emergency cut-off in Turlin Moor.

Mr Sanderson has endured a succession of assaults over his 17-year career, the most brutal incident being in December 1995, when he was beaten up at Poole bus station on a Saturday lunchtime and left in a coma for three months, not working for 18 months.

He has also been robbed, shot at by thugs with a pellet gun, beaten up twice in the space of a week and had ammonia sprayed in his eyes, leaving him off work for 10 months.

But Mr Sanderson said last night: “I put it down to the hazards of the job. I have got to pay my mortgage and driving is all I know.”

His wife Sue said she hoped the publicity since the Daily Echo told his story will bring about change.

National press and television picked up on the Daily Echo’s exclusive story yesterday, giving the issue nationwide exposure.

Mrs Sanderson, 51, said: “I’m very hopeful something might happen now and I’m very pleased with the help the Echo has given us in highlighting this.

“I hope they will now look at some ways of giving the drivers protection of some kind.”

The RMT union has also offered its support. General secretary Bob Crow said: “The bus companies should make sure their staff are properly protected.”

Wilts & Dorset PR manager Chris Harris said staff safety was of “paramount importance”.

“Our drivers have a valued and respected role in the company, and it is important that they can carry out their duties without fear or concern,” he said. “It is not our policy to disclose security matters, but I can assure you that measures are in place and are reviewed as necessary.”