A PREGNANT woman was terrified when youths lobbed a stone at the bus she was travelling on, smashing the window next to her.

Jade Wicks was sitting next to her six-year-old daughter on the number 17 service to the Parks on the evening of February 14 when she found herself targeted by yobs hanging around on a street corner.

“It was one of those things where you knew something was going to happen,” she said.

“Then they all put their hoods up just before they did it. I was petrified. I was 26 weeks pregnant at the time and it made it that much more scary.”

She and her husband Jack were only travelling on the service to visit a friend because their car had been written off in a collision with another bus.

“It was a normal journey until we got to the end of Upham Road,” she told the Advertiser. Then the bus stopped at a red light and she noticed a group of youths hanging around nearby.

“They were staring at the bus,” she said. “Just as it started to go they started throwing stones at it.”

One hit the window right next to her.

Luckily the glass did not cave in on top of her, but she and her daughter were hurriedly ushered to the other side of the bus for safety by her husband Jack who had to calm them.

Lillie-Anne was shaken by the incident, telling her parents: “That gave me a heart attack.”

When the light changed the driver pulled away and went to the next stop.

“I don’t know what happened after that, we got off anyway,” said Jade.

“It’s not the first time at that place. Teenagers sometimes punch the bus, but I never expected the window to be smashed.”

Later that evening Jack went in to a nearby shop, passing a group of youths laughing about the incident and discovered Jade had been their target.

“He heard kids boasting about throwing rocks at a fat woman on the bus, meaning me,” she said.

She was so concerned she contacted bus operator Thamesdown and passed on her details.

A similar incident happened on February 4 when two girls hurled stones at a number 11 bus as it travelled along Pinehurst Road shortly before 4pm.

In December a bus was involved in a stand-off at around 6.15pm with one of a group of youths in Eldene Drive, who refused to get out of the way and then threw a bottle of booze at the driver’s side window, smashing the glass.

Alex Chutter, Thamesdown Transport general manager, said: “’I can confirm there was an incident where two windows were smashed by missiles thrown at our bus.

"No injuries were reported but the safety of our drivers and passengers is our top priority and we reported this event to the police.

"We are working closely with the authorities as they carry out their investigations.’