U.K. school bullies to ride in pink bus

LONDON, Sept. 30 (UPI) -- Teenage thugs who turn a school bus into a journey from hell may find themselves a laughing stock, a London newspaper said Tuesday.

Fed up with the bad behavior of youths who terrorize drivers and other motorists, one bus operator hopes to shame the culprits by sending them to school in a bus painted bright pink, the London Evening Standard reported.

Of the bad behavior, Mark Piddell, a director of the Imperial Bus Co. said, "Somehow we don't think it will look quite so impressive in a bus painted bright pink."

Teenagers have abused drivers, sprayed graffiti inside the buses and used knives to rip the seats. Cars have been hit by coins thrown from the buses.

"It's not so easy to look (tough) when you're traveling in something that looks like a Barbie accessory," he said.

So far, the scheme seems to have worked.

The pink bus has been sitting in the company's depot for the past week but hasn't been dispatched.