POLICE are seeking a man who attacked a bus driver with a knife before snatching takings amounting to £12.

The attack took place on the No. 248 service - which takes a circular route from Huyton through Whiston and Prescot and back - between 7.50 and 8.20pm on Monday, January 22.

The attacker boarded the bus at Talbot Road, Huyton, along with five other passengers, two teenage boys and two girls who got off at Whiston, and an elderly man known to the driver as George, who always gets off at the Penny Black public House in Whiston. There were two other passengers who also alighted as the bus made its way down Cross Lane, Prescot.

After all the other passengers had got off, the attacker approached the driver mumbling something. When the driver asked him to repeat himself, the man lunged forward, slashing him across the face, before grabbing the cash.

The victim, who works for Merseytravel, was left with two slash marks leading officers to believe that a double-bladed knife was used. He was later treated at Whiston Hospital for superficial cuts.

The attacker is described as a white male, between 24 and 25 years, he was about 5ft 7in or 5ft 8in tall, had a stocky build and short black hair. He was wearing a dark-brown leather jacket, faded blue jeans and an oval onyx ring on his left hand. He spoke with a Liverpool accent and "smelled dirty and unclean."

Police would like to hear from any of the other passengers on the bus - a mini-coach with the name J C Mini Coaches on the side - prior to the attack; or from anyone with relevant information. You can contact DC Jordan on 0151 777 6264, or the Crime Management Unit at Huyton police station on 0151 777 6251.

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