TRANSPORT managers have agreed to restore night bus services to an estate.

Bus company Arriva North-East withdrew vehicles to the Skerne Park estate, in Darlington, following a string of vandalism and assaults in recent months.

The move to suspend services after 6pm followed an alleged assault on a driver and two passengers on a Friday night.

The incident was the final straw for bus managers, who had also heard reports of stones and bricks being thrown at vehicles, and a door being pulled off another bus.

However, the company has now pledged to give the area another chance in the wake of a public meeting to discuss the vandalism issue.

A spokeswoman for Arriva said: "The meeting went very well and we have received assurances from police and Neighbourhood Watch wardens, so the services are back to normal now.

"We have been working with the police and the local authority, and the meeting was very productive.

"The problem was a group of young people throwing missiles at the buses and we could not put employees and customers at that kind of risk."

Residents had spoken of their fears about large gangs of youths, thought to include many coming to the estate from Red Hall, Firthmoor and Branksome areas of the town.

One resident claimed that up to 150 youngsters had been involved in causing damage and intimidating people.

She said: "Some of them are just six or seven years old. They have been throwing bricks at buses, as well as throwing eggs at drivers and passengers."

However, police say the situation is under control and that the scale of the problem is not as bad as has been claimed.

Parents have also contacted The Northern Echo to say that bored youngsters were not being helped by a lack of local facilities.