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I felt something in my mouth, London driver complains as cockroaches ‘infest buses and swim in drinks’

BUS drivers in London have fumed that their vehicles are becoming riddled with cockroaches.

Shocking snaps appear to show the rodents perched in seat cushions and drink containers.

Passengers board a bus using the middle doors.

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Bus drivers in London are fuming as a horde of cockroaches infest their vehiclesCredit: AFP

As a result, many drivers have flocked to London Bus Forums (LBF), a message board and campaigning organisation, to call on Transport for London to make its vehicles cleaner, The Times reports.

One video uploaded to the forum appears to show one driver get a nasty shock when he notices several cockroaches inside his drink.

“I went to take a sip from my drink and felt something in my mouth,” the driver says in the clip. 

“I spat it out and saw it was a cockroach.

“I felt sick and ended up vomiting.”

Complaints made by drivers are “growing in frequency and urgency”, according to the LBF.

Bus services are run by private companies under contract to Transport for London [TfL].

TfL said extensive daily cleaning took place across the network and the fleet was treated with the same long-term antibacterial products as were used on the Underground.

A TfL spokesman said: “We are committed to working together with operators to provide a clean environment for staff and customers. Most TfL welfare facilities are cleaned multiple times a day, and at a minimum daily, to maintain hygiene and safety standards.

“All buses are also cleaned every night before entering service, and reports such as these are rare.

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“We take any report seriously and are urgently investigating the specific incidents that have been raised.

“As with any reports, we will take appropriate action as part of the investigation, which can include taking buses out of service for inspection, deep cleans and treatment with specialist equipment if necessary.

“We would like to reassure staff that our operators would never take action against people raising concerns about welfare or safety and encourage any driver with concerns to contact their employer, their union, or contact us directly.”

LBF added: “These cockroach reports are not isolated. They reflect a broader failure to maintain safe and sanitary conditions for bus drivers.

“This is a public health issue affecting both staff and passengers.

“That’s why drivers will be marching on November 5 to demand safer working conditions and the adoption of the bus drivers’ bill of rights.”

John Murphy, the regional officer for Unite, the union representing many London bus drivers, fumed that it was “completely unacceptable that London bus drivers are being forced to drive around for hours in vehicles that have cockroach infestations.”

He continued: “TfL and the bus companies need to take action now to rid all buses of infestations and Unite will hold them to account until they do.”

The Sun Online has reached out to Transport for London for comment.

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Craig Bellamy: Wales boss picks over ‘heart in mouth’ Belgium loss

Wales’ players were crestfallen at the final whistle, glazed looks in their eyes as it dawned on them that a huge opportunity had slipped through their grasp.

Belgium’s goalless draw with North Macedonia on Friday had opened the door for Wales, who needed to win their remaining three games to finish top of Group J and qualify automatically for the World Cup.

But they fell at the first hurdle, outgunned by Belgium in another chaotic shootout after losing 4-3 in Brussels in June.

Again, Wales’ bold approach – to press and to pour forward at every opportunity – left them exposed defensively, and once again they were ruthlessly punished by Jeremy Doku, Kevin De Bruyne and the rest.

On reflection, did Bellamy feel his side were just a little too open?

“We felt the best way of being able to combat this team was to have the ball,” he answered. “And we created a lot of chances, but we felt that was the way of being able to beat this team because we needed to win.

“It was as simple as that, and you could see even towards the end, we opened up more. We lost a bit of control in the game. But I always believe the way you can stop the opposition from scoring is by having the ball.

“But that transition moment, with Jeremy, it’s so fearful every time you have the ball that if it turns over, this kid, he’s just that.

“I’ve experienced it. I had him on my team [at Anderlecht], and I knew how dangerous he was, but going against him… We knew there were going to be difficult moments in that game.”

This has been a bruising window for Bellamy, whose decision to take on England in a friendly at Wembley last Thursday was met with a mixture of scepticism, bemusement and outright criticism.

The outcome, a chastening 3-0 defeat, intensified the fans’ discontent, though they were willing to keep an open mind if it helped Wales beat Belgium.

Supporters will be less forgiving now Wales have lost – making it 12 goals conceded in five games – and seen their hopes of qualifying automatically go up in smoke.

But nothing will deter Bellamy, unshakeable in his beliefs.

“I’ve seen a lot today that makes me feel we can get close to these. We can get close. We need to keep improving,” he said.

“But I told you at the start when I was going to do this. I’m going to press, and I won’t sit back. I know that goes against some people, but this is who I am.

“And today, I’ve seen a team with flaws because I have them. A team that wants to do something, because I want to. I’m grateful for that.”

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Shedeur Sanders mutes himself, literally, on Browns’ QB situation

Marshawn Lynch had “I’m just here so I won’t get fined.”

Bill Belichick had “We’re on to Cincinnati.”

Now Shedeur Sanders has come up with an equally inventive way of responding without responding to reporters’ questions: silence.

Sure, the Cleveland Browns rookie moved his mouth and gestured when he was asked Wednesday about remaining the team’s No. 3 quarterback after fellow first-year QB Dillon Gabriel was promoted to starter.

But no actual words came out of his mouth.

Essentially, Sanders hit the mute button on himself — which is what made the response so brilliant.

Sanders was a star college quarterback for Colorado, playing for his father and NFL legend Deion Sanders, and was considered by some to be a first-round pick going into the 2025 draft. Instead, he dropped to the Browns in the fifth round (No. 144 overall) after Cleveland had already selected Gabriel out of Oregon in the third round.

For the first four weeks of the 2025 season, Gabriel was the Browns’ No. 2 quarterback and Sanders was No. 3, both behind 18-year veteran Joe Flacco.

But Flacco has been ineffective in leading Cleveland to a 1-3 start, which prompted the Browns to announce Wednesday that Gabriel will be their Week 5 starter. Flacco dropped to No. 2 with Sanders remaining at No. 3.

Later Wednesday in the Browns locker room, Sanders was asked by a reporter for his thoughts on not moving up on the depth chart. He smiled broadly and proceeded to give a voiceless answer. Reporters tried at least four more times to get Sanders to answer similar questions, eliciting only a similar pantomimed response.

Sanders’ behavior may have been in response to critical remarks made Monday by former NFL coach and current analyst Rex Ryan.

Last week, during an interview with ESPNCleveland, Sanders was asked about his feelings on being a backup quarterback in the NFL. During the course of the conversation, he made some comments — including “if you see the quarterback play in the league right now, I’m capable of playing better than that” and “a lot of teams would be playing me, but that’s not in God’s plan right now” — that rubbed Ryan the wrong way.

“This kid talks and he runs his mouth,” Ryan said days later on ESPN’s “Get Up.” “Like he said, ‘I can be a starting quarterback’ with his arms crossed like this. Get your a— in the front row and study and do all that. If I know, the whole league knows. Quit being an embarrassment that way. You’ve got the talent to be the quarterback, you should be. You should be embarrassed that you’re not the quarterback now.”

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