Drunk Telford man who threatened to stab Ludlow bus driver unless he let him drive is jailed

Get the latest headlines delivered straight to your inbox with the Shropshire Star’s free newsletter

Billy Gosling, aged 27, formerly of Waltondale, Telford, was in Ludlow with a woman when he first stopped the bus on May 9 this year during the middle of the day, Shrewsbury Crown Court heard on Friday.

Ms Alexa Carrier prosecuting said the defendant had asked the bus driver if he was going to Telford and when he was told he wasn’t, Gosling and the woman walked off.

She said the bus driver later picked up the pair while still on his route.

“They were loud and appeared intoxicated,” Ms Carrier said. “Other passengers on the route warned the driver about them and the police were called who pulled the bus over.”

She said after speaking to the driver, who told officers that the Gosling and the woman had not caused him any issue so far, they let the bus drive off with Gosling still aboard.

But she said when the driver of the bus braked heavily, Gosling stumbled and dropped a bottle of vodka on the bus, which broke.

She told the court that Gosling then shouted at the driver: “I’m going to kill you. If you brake like that again I will stab you.”

She said the bus carried on for a short while when the driver was forced to brake heavily again.

Ms Carrier said: “He (the defendant) then said ‘get out of that seat now! I want to drive the bus and I am going to stab you. I have done it before.”

She said Gosling pulled out a knife and made a threatening gesture across his own throat. He then began kicking the door until police arrived.

She said when Gosling was arrested, he dropped the knife, which she described as being five inches long.

Ms Rosemary Proctor, defending, said Gosling, who admitted one count of affray and one count of possession of a knife, had until the age of 19, never been in trouble before.

She blamed his subsequent 16 convictions for 28 offences as caused by his “isolation” in his youth.

“He was simply not ready for adulthood,” she told the court, adding that the “catalyst” for Gosling’s offending over the last few years had also been his “drinking” and appealed to the judge to suspend any prison term.

But Judge Deni Mathews told the defendant: “Public servants such as bus drivers need to know that the criminal justice system will protect them .

“You threatened to stab and kill a bus driver in the middle of the day.

“Possession of a knife is extremely serious and the courts must and will protect public services.”

He jailed Gosling for 29 months, adding: “This is so serious it has to be an immediate custody.”

Gosling was told he would serve around 40 per cent of his sentence, minus the eight months he had spent on remand, before being released on licence.