CCTV footage caught the men shrieking 'We've f***ing stolen a bus!' as they swapped turns at the wheel of the single-decker bus while still moving
TWO drunken teenagers wrote off a £75,000 bus in a crazed joyride.
Harry Atley, 19, and Thomas Bloomfield, 18, drove into verges, over roundabouts and narrowly missed cars in the 14-minute rampage.
CCTV footage caught them shrieking “We've f***ing stolen a bus!” as they swapped turns at the wheel of the 41-seater single-decker while still moving.
Nine miles later they crashed into a ditch at 1.30am and fled.
But they were identified by Pulham and Sons Coaches boss Kathryn Pulham, who viewed the CCTV and tracked them down on Facebook.
Atley and Bloomfield pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicle taking and dangerous driving in Tetbury, Gloucs.
Judge Michael Cullum told them "For fourteen minutes and for nine miles the two of you drove a bus that you were not legally entitled to drive, even had you been sober.
"You had clearly both been drinking a huge amount of alcohol.
"You took it in turns to drive the bus, appearing to swap drivers without the bus stopping.
"You left a trail of near misses. You drove into verges, you went over roundabouts. You were not in control of that bus.
"You got into that situation by drinking after work and quite unlawfully getting yourselves onto that bus in the first place.
"You did not initially intend to drive it or expect to be able to get it moving. Your excitement when you achieved that was obvious. The fourteen minutes then ends with a serious crash.
"You completely wrecked the bus - a vehicle worth £75,000 and engaged in daily usage by a local company employing 110 people with a fleet of eighty vehicles.
Atley and Bloomfield, both of Tetbury, were given suspended detention sentences at Gloucester crown court. They must each pay Pulham’s £10,000.
