Man who chained himself to Hove bus stop forces council's hand

Peter Stairs, 79, attached himself to a bus stop in Hove with a chain and padlock after becoming enraged in a bid to get the council’s attention.

The bus stop, in New Church Road, was installed ten months ago but was not activated by Brighton and Hove City Council.

Peter during his protest (Image: Kerri Rustell)

One morning the navy veteran “snapped” and resolved to chain himself to the bus stop until it was switched on “or he died there”.

His protest appeared in The Argus and now the bus stop has been activated.

READ MORE: Man chains himself to Hove bus sign and says it must be fixed

Mr Stairs said: “I am absolutely delighted with the result and I hope it sent a very strong message to the council.

“I’m very grateful to The Argus for taking up my cause... power to the people."

The bus stop sign is now working (Image: Andrew Gardner / The Argus)

During Mr Stairs’ lock-on protest, he was supported by people who brought him fruit and stopped to talk with him.

During the protest, the Hove man also unchained himself to fetch a comfortable chair from home, then chained himself back up again.

Mr Stairs, who is a frequent traveller on the number 1, 1A and number 6 buses, was affected by the inconvenience due to his reliance on public transport.

Mr Stairs celebrating after his lock-on protest (Image: Andrew Gardner / The Argus)

He said: “I entirely rely on the buses. I do my bit for the planet as I am very concerned with environmental issues.”

The Argus was made aware of the bus stop’s activation on Wednesday, May 22, following the protest on Friday, May 17.

The bus stop was activated by Brighton and Hove City Council, who vowed to “look into why the digital display had not yet been activated and how quickly it can be resolved” when they were made aware of Mr Stairs' action.

Mr Stairs unlocked the chains when the sign was fixed (Image: Andrew Gardner / The Argus)

Speaking on the activation, councillor Trevor Muten, cabinet member for transport, parking and public realm, said: "I'm pleased the digital bus display at this stop is now working and would like to thank residents for their patience and understanding.

"We had been waiting for a new mains power connection to be provided by UK Power Networks and asked for this to be prioritised ahead of a city-wide upgrade to our displays this summer.

"We understand how important this real-time information is for residents to get around the city and how frustrating it is when the bus times aren't available. We would always encourage anyone who spots a faulty display to report this to our highways team through our website."

Sussex Police were also made aware of the incident and spoke to Mr Stairs, but did not intervene.