SCHOOL buses across Blackburn and Darwen are being fitted with hidden cameras in a bid to find the vandals causing thousands of pounds of damage each week.

Blackburn Transport has become the second Lancashire firm to fit state-of-the-art CCTV cameras to its 100-strong fleet of buses, at a cost of £250,000.

But unlike Lancashire United, which fitted visible small cameras earlier this year on several routes in a bid to make customers feel safer, Blackburn Transport is using hidden cameras to spy on vandals.

And the firm is using front-mounted cameras to report drivers who clog up bus lanes and bus stops to the police.

Their footage has also assisted in helping identify car drivers who have caused accidents around Blackburn with Darwen.

Managing director Michael Morton said the hidden cameras were being fitted to double decker buses used on school routes as they were the most prone to vandalism.

He said: "Each week, we have to replace around 100 seats at around £20 a seat. To catch the people responsible, or at least to get them to stop would be a massive saving for us. The cost of just that vandalism is horrendous.

"There will be covert cameras on some buses, primarily the ones used on school routes."

Each bus will be fitted with at least four cameras, including one which looks out at the road ahead.

Pictures will be fed back live to a control room where staff can record footage of any accidents caught on film -- including ones not involving buses.

Another camera watches over the driver's cab, while two watch over each deck of the bus.

As well as cutting down on vandalism, Mr Morton hopes the cameras will lead to a reduction in the number of insurance claims made against the company -- a major headache for all bus operators.

He said: "In one incident, a car driver pulled out in front of one of our buses and caused the driver to brake heavily. This could have led to whiplash claims from our customers, but because we had the driver's registration plate on the CCTV camera, we will not have to pay any money out because it was not our fault.

"We have felt for some time that our drivers and customers alike need the reassurance that CCTV brings. The quality of this equipment sends razor sharp images direct to our head office from any of our buses on the road.

"Cameras provide vital information when one of its vehicles involved in or near an incident.

"Just recently, three of the onboard cameras attached to dashboards were used by the police to piece together the jigsaw of an accident on the A666.

"In another incident, a potential claim from a customer that the bus had set off too quickly throwing her to the floor was dismissed when footage clearly showed she had sat down and leaning out of her seat to get something in her shopping bag and not holding on to the hand rails."

Coun Yusuf Jan-Virmani, chairman of Blackburn Transport, said: "This initiative has to be welcomed, not only because it makes passengers feel safe, but it will definitely make people think twice about vandalising buses."

Chief Insp Mick Gledhill of Blackburn Police said: "We have welcomed the support from Blackburn Transport both in helping to cut crime and their assistance in our inquiries."