What happens when a short-tempered bus driver and similarly agitated pedestrian bump heads? 

Tourists on a number 13 bus going to Baħar ic-Cagħaq yesterday morning got to find out, and the results weren't pretty. 

The driver stopped the bus to have a 'chat' with the pedestrian in question, eyewitnesses said.

The ruckus kicked off after the bus driver was forced to turn the corner of Ross Street, St Julian's, at a sharp angle, frightening a group of pedestrians in the process and prompting one of them to bang on the side of the bus in alarm. 

"Then the bus driver stopped the bus and went out to 'talk'," said a passenger who spoke to Times of Malta. "The men started hitting each other almost immediately." 

Photos show the driver and a group of pedestrians locked in a messy scuffle. A video uploaded to YouTube shows the moments right after the initial fisticuffs.

In the video, the bus driver strides up to a pedestrian and angrily confronts him, as a woman repeatedly shrieks "stop!" Other pedestrians intervene, pointing at the kerb by their feet in exasperation. A man in a Malta Public Transport uniform then steps in to pull the driver away from the huddle.

All the while, a young passenger watching the drama from the safety of the bus clasps his hands to his ears in evident discomfort. 

"After this, the bus driver told all the passengers to leave the bus," the eyewitness said.

A Malta Public Transport spokesman said it was aware of the incident, as the driver had reported it himself shortly afterwards.

CCTV footage from the bus showed that the driver had been stuck at the corner of Ross Street just prior to the incident, the spokesman said.

"He was waiting there for quite some time, since nobody was giving way to him," the spokesperson said. "CCTV shows that he started slowly manoeuvring round the corner when he heard banging on the side of the bus. At that point, he got off the bus to see what had happened, when it all kicked off."

The spokesman said that the driver was injured during the ensuing scuffle. "We will of course be speaking to the driver further," he added.