A TEENAGER who spat on a bus driver in Tranent has had his sentence deferred to next year for him to be of good behaviour.

Nathan Cook spat on bus employee Colin Dickson during an altercation while the vehicle was on the town’s High Street last year.

Cook, 19, had attempted to buy a ticket which was not for sale at that time and proceeded to get into a row with the driver.

During the argument, Cook got close to the partition glass that separates the driver from the public and spat at him.

Cook appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court last Wednesday where he pleaded guilty to the assault on Mr Dickson.

Prosecutor Clare Kennedy said that Mr Dickson was driving the public bus on Tranent High Street at about 2.30pm on April 22 last year.

Ms Kennedy said: “Mr Cook got on the bus and asked for a ticket which could not be produced at that time of day.

“The driver told Mr Cook of this and an argument between them [broke out] and came to an end and Mr Cook sat down and Mr Dickson carried on the bus route.

“But they began arguing again as the bus pulled up to a stop on Tranent High Street. Mr Cook put his face up to the glass and spat through the glass and [the spit] landed on [the driver’s] arm.”

Sheriff Pamela Bowman told Cook: “This was a bad, bad thing to do. The bus driver was only doing his job.”

Sheriff Bowman deferred sentence to July next year for Cook, from Edinburgh, to be of good behaviour.

Cook admitted assaulting Colin Dickson by spitting on his body on April 22 last year.