The scourge of seat vandalism at ‘disgusting’ Rotherham bus station

Dozens of the blue padded chairs at the bus station have been carved open, exposing the wooden frames.

The Advertiser counted 33 damaged seats along platforms A and B this week – about a fifth of the total seating.

Pensioner Val Marks, who uses the bus station every other day, said: “It’s disgusting. [South Yorkshire mayor] Oliver Coppard should get in that bus station and see what it’s like.

“What kind of impression does that give for people visiting Rotherham? Where’s the security?

“They have messages playing saying that there’s CCTV, so why can’t they get the people that’s doing this?

“They must have had knives to cut the seats, because they’re so thick. It’s been going on for months. Every time you go into town, there’s more and more and more been damaged.

“I saw a small girl get hurt on one because they’re so sharp. And if people are wearing nice clothes, they could easily get ripped sitting on these.”

Val, of Herringthorpe Valley Road, said she had been trying to get a response from South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority for months, and even a letter sent on her behalf by MP Sarah Champion on July 18 had yielded no result.

There was criticism of how the station had quickly become rundown after its £12 million revamp, which was completed in spring 2019.

Despite serving much fewer passengers because of the pandemic lockdowns, the interchange was soon suffering from loose floor tiles, broken ticket machines and faulty bus time info screens.

A SYMCA spokesperson said: “We’re disappointed to see the damage to the seating at Rotherham Interchange.

“Our customers deserve better, and we can assure them that the damaged seat covers are in the process of being replaced.

“As part of our longer-term plans, we will look at ensuring more suitable seating is installed in our interchanges that are less likely to be damaged.”