A WOMAN bus driver fought off three robbers who tried to drag her off her vehicle.

The raiders struck at about 6.30pm on Tuesday, after the E6 service had dropped off its last passengers at Sunderland Interchange and the driver was making her way back to the depot in South Shields.

The three men hid upstairs on board the double-decker bus and leapt out as the vehicle travelled along Lizard Lane in Marsden, South Tyneside.

They tried to drag the woman off the bus and steal her cash box, but she resisted their assault and they fled empty-handed.

The 24-year-old woman was left shaken by the attack, but unhurt.

Police believe the raiders got on the bus at about 5.42pm on Tuesday, at the stop near the Marsden Inn roundabout.

They have appealed for any passengers, people standing at the bus stop or anyone who saw the robbers running away from the scene to contact them with information on 0191-454 7555.