Bedside vigil for man pushed off bus

Jul 3 2008 by Neil Mckay, The Journal

RELATIVES and friends spent an all-day vigil yesterday at the hospital bedside of a former soldier fighting for his life after asking bus passengers to stop swearing.

Stan Dixon’s partner Anne and his brother Kenneth, a taxi driver, were among those gathered by Mr Dixon’s bedside at Newcastle General Hospital as his condition continued to give grave cause for concern.

Mr Dixon, 60, of Eden Vale, Horden, and his partner, Anne, 41, a home help, had been travelling on an Arriva 243 Hartlepool to Peterlee Hopper bus service on Saturday evening when they became involved in an argument with two men and a woman sitting at the back of the bus.

According to police, Mr Dixon had asked them to stop swearing in front of other passengers, including elderly women.

The couple decided to get off the bus on the Coast Road outside Beech Crescent, Horden, a stop before the one where they would normally have alighted, to avoid further confrontation with the men and woman. But as Mr Dixon began to get off the bus, two men rushed forward and he was pushed, suffering a serious head injury when he landed on the pavement.

Last night Mr Dixon’s condition was said to remain critical with injuries described as “life threatening.”

Friend and next door neighbour Edward Slack, a 67-year-old former town councillor, described the incident as “shocking and distressing.”

He said: “From what I can gather he had asked some people to stop swearing. He has old fashioned values like myself and would hate to hear people using bad language in front of ladies.

“He is a good man and a good neighbour who is always willing to help others. I have known him for about seven years.

“He wasn’t working, I think he suffered from health problems. When I talked to his lady friend today she looked devastated. She said she was going through to the hospital and that his condition was not good.”

Police want to talk to two women passengers who got off the bus at Blackhall, before Mr Dixon sustained his injuries.

Detective Sergeant Cliff Down, of Peterlee CID, last night renewed appeals for passengers on the bus during the journey, or anybody who was near the bus stop at around 10pm last Saturday, to contact CID on 0845 60 60 365 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

A man, 23, from Peterlee, was arrested yesterday on suspicion of assault and was being questioned last night at the town’s police station.