A bus company was forced to divert a service for the safety of passengers after one of its vehicles was attacked by youths.

Arriva’s number 71 from Maidstone to Holborough came under fire in Snodland on Wednesday while in St Katherine’s Lane and Dryland Road at around 7.45pm.

The service was initially suspended before eventually being re-routed via Malling Road.

It was reported to police and the service returned to normal the next day.

A spokesperson for Arriva said: “We had to halt the 71 services because our buses were being attacked in St Katherine’s Lane and Drylands Road.

“Thankfully there was no damage and nobody was harmed but we decided to divert the service for the rest of that evening for everyone’s health and safety.

“The buses were diverted via the Malling Road into Snodland. This was to protect our staff, our passengers and our vehicles.

“Sadly, this is not the first time our buses have been targeted by people and Arriva has reported the matter to police.”

Last week Arriva had to stop its services through Luton Road, near Chatham, twice in three days as the route was targeted by yobs with catapults.

And it’s a recurring issue for the route as in June, bricks were hurled at buses causing them to be diverted.

In September, Arriva permanently scrapped the 190 route from Dering Way, Gravesend after a window was smashed.

The decision was made following a number of attacks on the buses.