A BUS driver has described his shock after being robbed by a passenger.

The young lout thanked Colin Cornish for the journey before punching him in the face and grabbing cash.

The First bus driver was on the number 65 route and pulled into a stop in Severalls Lane, Colchester, where he was attacked.

Mr Cornish, 29, from Harwich, has spoken out in the hope someone will come forward and identify the culprits.

He said: “I was picking up passengers as normal when two lads got on at North Station.

“They were the last two on the bus and they rang the bell, so I stopped.

“They said thank you and then one of them smacked me in the face.”

Mr Cornish called in to report what had happened on Tuesday at 6.30pm, and was told to bring the bus back to Colchester bus station and go straight to the police.

He said: “I was just in a state of shock. The other drivers are furious at what happened.

“I warned the others who were out in the area to keep an eye out.

“The police were fantastic and really helpful.”

Mr Cornish will have to wait for ten days to find out if his bloodied nose is broken.

He said: “We provide a service for the public and try our best to be helpful and then this happens.

“Thankfully, it is rare for something like this to happen to drivers in Colchester.”

The male attacker was accompanied by another man and both made off into the nearby housing estate. The attacker is white, aged 18 to 20, 6ft tall, quite stocky and was wearing a blue baseball cap, baggy blue T-shirt and blue jeans worn very low.

The other was white, and about the same age, with pale skin and blonde, spikey hair. He was wearing a green long-sleeved hooded top and blue jeans, also worn low.

Anyone with information can call Det Con Trevor Clark at Colchester CID on 101.