Scots passenger 'lost control' and head-butted bus driver after ticket dispute

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A passenger who head-butted a bus driver after a dispute about an electronic ticket has been spared jail. Kyle Servera, 42, got angry when the battery on his mobile went flat and it would not display the ticket he'd bought.

Servera, who was trying to board a Number 38 bus outside Falkirk Sheriff Court on August 30 2021, had "a brief argument" with the driver, Stuart Mark, before buying another ticket and taking a seat.However when the vehicle stopped a mile down the road for a shift change at the First Bus garage in Larbert, Servera "pursued" Mr Mark, 39, off the vehicle.Prosecutor Sean Iles said: "He told the driver, 'I'm going to leather you' and then head-butted him and walked away."Police were contacted and found Servera nearby.Servera, of St Ninians, Stirling, appeared for sentence after pleading guilty to assaulting Mr Mark, who was not said to have been injured, and committing a statutory breach of the peace.The case was heard at Falkirk Sheriff Court.Solicitor Gordon Addison, defending, said Servera had been "under significant stress" and had been drinking.Mr Addison said: "The argument appears to have occurred because he'd bought a ticket on his phone, his phone ran out of charge, the bus driver wouldn't accept that, and he had to buy another ticket."That was the catalyst for Mr Servera losing control."The lawyer added that Servera had exhibited "genuine contrition and shame".Sheriff Christopher Shead sentenced Servera to 120 hours of unpaid work, as a direct alternative to custody.He said: "This is the kind of behaviour that leads the courts to consider putting people in prison." Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here.