Basden warned.

"I would have no hesitation in doing so over Hallowe'en if they could be identified,'' he declared.

"These people attract trouble to the buses and are often the bullying type.'' Police, meanwhile, have pledged to step up patrols to stamp out trouble.

And they have urged people to use their common sense and turn Hallowe'en into a night of fun.

The warnings come days after Warwick Academy students were involved in a flare-up as they waited for a bus in Middle Road.

Last Wednesday, more than four of them were reportedly targeted by a busload of egg-throwing Warwick Secondary youngsters, who also sprayed them with a fire extinguisher.

The Warwick Secondary pupils are then said to have hurled the extinguisher at their victims.

Warwick Academy principal Bernard Beacroft later announced his students would be dismissed early on October 31 to protect them from Hallowe'en rowdies.

Mr. Beacroft said he had called Chief Education Officer Joseph Christopher and Public Transportation Board (PTB) senior supervisor Albert Thompson about the incident.

PTB director Herman Basden said he expected to meet with bus operators this week to discuss Hallowe'en.

For the past two years, missile-throwing pranksters have robbed Bermuda of a Hallowe'en evening bus service.

Last year, drivers refused to make trips after 6.15 p.m, through fear of being targeted.

Said Mr. Basden: "I am against cancellation of services because it means at the end of the day the hooligan wins out and I don't think that's the right way to deal with the problem. We should deal with it head-on.'' Mr. Basden expressed concern at the incident involving Warwick students.

"I am hoping that school principals and, of course, parents will speak to their children at this time of year because they can expect some children will get carried away by the occasion and will be prone to do silly things at the immediate mention of Hallowe'en.'' Mr. Basden feared some of the worst trouble-makers could inflict serious injuries on their victims, such as blinding them.

And he believed they should be kept out of school, if identified.

"If I could catch some of them I would keep them off the buses.'' P.c. Gary Venning also warned of the potential harm of Hallowe'en trouble-makers, saying people could be killed or seriously injured.

"We will be giving advice on the matter nearer the time. We strongly discourage rowdy behaviour and hope people will use common sense and have fun without causing trouble.

"It is normal to put on extra Police patrols and hopefully these will discourage this type of irresponsible behaviour.'' Last Hallowe'en officers dealt with 43 incidents ranging from egg throwing to Molotov cocktails being thrown at property and even a Policeman. Most of the trouble flared in the central parishes.

The violence prompted Public Safety Minister Quinton Edness to threaten to ban Hallowe'en celebrations.

"I am not anxious to ban the night for young people, but I do feel that we as a community have to talk about the matter further and I am hoping there will be an opportunity to do that,'' he said.

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