And the Education Ministry is to ram home a "stay out of trouble'' message to schoolchildren.

The moves follows continuing concern over a wave of Hallowe'en attacks in recent years -- with buses in the firing line.

Last year, missile-throwing pranksters forced bus drivers to go off the road.

Drivers refused to start any trips after 6.15 p.m. on Hallowe'en, fearing hooligans were a danger to themselves and passengers. In particular, there was growing alarm over the use of firearms.

Public Transportation Board management has already met the Police to discuss this year's possible Hallowe'en threat.

And another key meeting is scheduled for tomorrow.

Yesterday, PTB director Mr. Herman Basden said management hoped to run the "normal, scheduled'' bus service on October 31.

"We don't want to be seen to be giving in to the hooligans,'' he said.

Mr. Basden, however, was reluctant to give would-be thugs too much pre-Hallowe'en publicity, believing it could encourage them in their anti-social behaviour.

"We want to keep as low a profile as possible on this.'' Mr. Basden has been a strong supporter of harsh treatment for thugs who hurl bricks and bottles at public buses.

"These vicious, unprovoked attacks on buses and the public, in my view, have to be dealt with severely,'' Mr. Basden has told The Royal Gazette in the past.

Mr. Basden would not say what sentence was appropriate, but called for minimal considerations given to the welfare of the attacker.

He has praised the Police for their success in catching people who throw missiles at buses.

Yesterday, Police spokesman Insp. Roseanda Jones said it was normal for extra patrols to be drafted in to combat Hallowe'en hooligans.

"I don't think that will change. We will be doing the same again this year.'' In the past, the Education Ministry has moved to thwart the thugs, urging school principals to supervise kids more closely.

Yesterday, Chief Education Officer Mr. Dean Furbert said the same measures would be taken this year.

"I was thinking about this very thing today, and am planning to advise principals on the importance of instructing students on safety.

"As in the past, I will also be speaking to the PTB since they have had difficulties with children.'' Mr. Furbert said parents had a vital role to play as well.

"Parents should be alerted to the need to provide appropriate instruction for their children, and proper supervision with a view to the safety of children.'' Ready for hooligans He added: "I suppose Hallowe'en is a public observance, and everybody recognises it and marks it in some way.

"But the entire public should be alerted to the need to help students to make decisions which are appropriate.

"If they are going to involve themselves in activities then they should be given guidance which will prevent them hurting themselves and hurting others.'' Previous bus attacks on Hallowe'en, and at other times, include: Apples being thrown at bus passengers; Rock-throwing kids smashing windows and windscreens of two buses full of passengers; A metal file being hurled at a bus; and A female bus passenger being "showered with glass'' after a beer bottle smashed a side window.