BUS drivers across Lancashire are to be issued with DNA sample kits to help catch passengers who spit at them after an increase in the vile attacks.

As part of the plan, expected to be approved by Lancashire County Council this month, 4,000 kits would be handed out to drivers across the county.

They would use gloves, an evidence bag and a sterile swab to take samples of the spit and hand them to police.

The plan, expected to cost less that £5,000, would allow police to check DNA against a national database, which could identify the offender and lead to prosecution.

Today the drivers' union said such incidents, many of which went unreported, were on the increase and welcomed the move.

Coun Tony Martin, Lancashire County Council's executive member for sustainable development, said the scheme was part of one of the authority's core commitments' to get more people travelling on buses.

He said he hoped all bus operators in the county would take part, and added: "I would think this will be an excellent scheme.

"If we can implement it within all our bus operators through Lancashire I would be more than pleased.

"I want to stop all this oafish behaviour so people can travel safely."

A similar scheme already operates in areas including London, where it is known as Operation Gobstopper, Cardiff, Bristol, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

In the capital, 15 cases were reported to police in the first eight months.

Peter Johnson, regional industrial organiser for the Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU), said attacks on drivers are becoming more and more common.

He added: "Spitting is assault, and also a bit more than just assault because if these people are carrying any kind of disease it can transmit the disease.

"Unfortunately these circumstances are on the increase, along with other forms of assault. "