Fiddler on the routes
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A GLASGOW bus driver wh was surprised by two men whi he was trying to prise mon from his Fast Fare sealed cor vault, claims he thought he w going to be mugged.
But a Glasgow industrial trib nal heard how driver Han McCafferty got an even bigg fright when he found out the t plain-clothed strangers were Ix inspectors who had be watching him trying to tido the cash box.
When Mr McCafferty realisc who the men were, the tribund was told, he made a lunge fo, the machine to clear away thf cash trapped in a chamber threw away paper he was usinf as a lever, and tried to hide hacksaw blade he was using tc commit the fraud.
Mr McCafferty claimed he hac been "set up", by the Grate Glasgow (now Strathclyde) Pas senger Transport Executive be cause its surveillance Iliac proved fruitless — the tribuna heard that the driver had beer put under scrutiny last year afte reports from inspectors.
The tribunal then heard hovs McCafferty had arrived at a ter minus nine minutes early anc was attempting to prise mone from the machine, and that afte the incident, McCafferty asker police officers to charge the twc inspectors with assault.
Mr McCafferty denied havinc. a hacksaw blade and interferinc with the cash box, and stated i was impossible to withdrav money from the box using piece of paper.
However, an experiment car ried out by a bus chief inspecto showed that it was possible tc extract cash from the box by thi, means.
The tribunal also heard tha McCafferty, although having ni previous history of dishorliest with the PTE, nevertheless clii not have an entirely un blemished record and refuse' the driver's application for corn pensation for unfair dismissal.