SHOCKED bus driver John Chapman was held at gunpoint in a highway robbery by two ten-year-old boys wearing masks.

When Mr Chapman, 60, refused to hand over his takings, one of the thugs fired a shot.

The pellet, from a high-powered air pistol, cracked the security screen in front of the driver's face as the primary school-age gunmen fled.

Police are now hunting the boys after the incident on the Ford estate, in Sunderland, Wearside.

Mr Chapman said: "I thought I had seen it all in my 40 years on the buses.

"I have had kids fighting and throwing snowballs but now they are carrying guns. It's terrifying.

"I was the victim of a robbery once before, when my takings were stolen, and I have also had water guns pointed at me.

"I thought that was what was happening on this occasion and at first I wasn't worried."

Seconds before the robbery attempt, Mr Chapman got out of his seat to help an elderly passenger along the aisle.

He had left the doors open at the bus stop and, as he returned to his seat, he saw the diminutive figures waiting for him on the pavement.

No one on the Stagecoach number 10 service from Ford to Sunderland city centre was injured in the incident.

Bryony Chamberlain, of Stagecoach, said: "Air weapons can kill and we are looking for the toughest action to be taken about these boys, who placed the health and safety of our driver in jeopardy."