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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| Chair rage: police hunt for man who chewed bus seat | Chair rage: police hunt for man who chewed bus seat |
| (9 months later) | |
| Police in Devon are asking for help in finding a bus passenger who caused £200 worth of damage by eating his seat – or at least a chunk of it. | Police in Devon are asking for help in finding a bus passenger who caused £200 worth of damage by eating his seat – or at least a chunk of it. |
| The young man was travelling on the bus in Paignton, on the English riviera, when he was apparently seized by an attack of hunger or boredom and began biting the leather seat. | The young man was travelling on the bus in Paignton, on the English riviera, when he was apparently seized by an attack of hunger or boredom and began biting the leather seat. |
| It is not entirely clear whether he swallowed the hunk of seat or spat it out but CCTV footage caught the suspect gripping a bottle of fizzy drink, which he might have used to wash it down. | It is not entirely clear whether he swallowed the hunk of seat or spat it out but CCTV footage caught the suspect gripping a bottle of fizzy drink, which he might have used to wash it down. |
| Devon and Cornwall police have chewed over the evidence since the incident on 25 May but have drawn a blank, so have released a CCTV still of their chief suspect to help track him down. | Devon and Cornwall police have chewed over the evidence since the incident on 25 May but have drawn a blank, so have released a CCTV still of their chief suspect to help track him down. |
| A police spokesman summed the crime up: "While travelling between Paignton and Torquay on a number 12 bus, a male passenger started chewing the leather seat he was sat on and continued to pick at the hole with his hand to make further damage. Around £200 of damage was caused." | A police spokesman summed the crime up: "While travelling between Paignton and Torquay on a number 12 bus, a male passenger started chewing the leather seat he was sat on and continued to pick at the hole with his hand to make further damage. Around £200 of damage was caused." |
| The suspect is described as male, in his late teens to early 20s, 5ft 9ins and (perhaps not surprisingly) of stocky build. He has short dark hair and was wearing a dark coloured T-shirt and light jeans. | The suspect is described as male, in his late teens to early 20s, 5ft 9ins and (perhaps not surprisingly) of stocky build. He has short dark hair and was wearing a dark coloured T-shirt and light jeans. |
| The bus operator Stagecoach's conditions of carriage asks passengers to "refrain from eating and drinking items which make the environment unpleasant for other customers or otherwise cause offence". It does not address the question of eating bits of the bus. | The bus operator Stagecoach's conditions of carriage asks passengers to "refrain from eating and drinking items which make the environment unpleasant for other customers or otherwise cause offence". It does not address the question of eating bits of the bus. |
| A spokeswoman for the company said the passenger had only been on the bus for 20 minutes. She said he had been chatting to people on the bus but then decided to munch on the seat. She did not know if he had swallowed the leather and emphasised that he had only eaten a small part of the seat – but enough to make it unpractical to repair it. "It's not the case that he ate the whole seat," she added. | A spokeswoman for the company said the passenger had only been on the bus for 20 minutes. She said he had been chatting to people on the bus but then decided to munch on the seat. She did not know if he had swallowed the leather and emphasised that he had only eaten a small part of the seat – but enough to make it unpractical to repair it. "It's not the case that he ate the whole seat," she added. |
| Anybody who can help identify the passenger can call Crimestoppers on 0800 555111, in confidence. | Anybody who can help identify the passenger can call Crimestoppers on 0800 555111, in confidence. |
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