TWO young women accused of a racist attack on an elderly blind man on a Gold Coast bus have received death threats, their lawyer says.

One has been freed on bail but her co-accused will remain behind bars and was led back to the cells sobbing.

Larna Watmough, 21, and Layni Cameron, 17, faced Southport Magistrates Court this morning charged with serious assault and public nuisance.

They are accused of assaulting 77-year-old man Paul Buttigieg on a Surfside bus on Tuesday.

REVEALED: Bus attack accused's link to NRL bad boy



VICTIM SPEAKS: "All I said was 'would you mind stop swearing'"

The attack was filmed by a 13-year-old passenger on a smartphone and whipped up a social media storm.

A man believed to be Watmough's father expressed anger that she was in handcuffs when she appeared in the dock.

"Stay strong," he urged her.

media_camera Larna Watmough leaves the Southport Watchhouse with her father. Pic: Luke Marsden

She was bailed on condition she report three times a week to police and not approach Mr Buttigieg.

Cameron did not apply for bail.

Outside court, defence lawyer Jodi Allen said both girls had been subjected to death threats.

"Both of them are quite understandably upset ..." she said.

"It is a situation where they've received death threats and other threats to their personal safety have been made against them online."

Ms Allen said the backlash against her clients had gone too far.

"We have a justice system for a reason," she said.

Earlier it was reported that the father of a 21-year-old woman accused of attacking an elderly man on a Gold Coast bus claims his daughter is being vilified by people who "don't know the story at all".

Video of the attack has gone viral and the pair have been condemned on social media.

Larna Watmough, 21, and 17-year-old Layni Cameron have both been charged with serious assault and public nuisance and will appear in Southport Magistrates Court this morning.

Earlier, 17-year-old Layni Cameron was charged with the same offences at Coolangatta Police Station before begging officers not to take her to the Southport watchhouse.

They will both appear in court this morning.

Ms Watmough's father, who would not reveal his first name, told the Gold Coast Bulletin his daughter was sorry for the incident on Tuesday although there was "another side to the story".

Mr Watmough claimed 77-year-old Paul Buttigieg was "rude" and the backlash his daughter endured on social media was unjustified.

"They don't know the story at all," he said.

Overnight it was reported the pair wept as they were arrested yesterday, having been identified hundreds of times online after amateur mobile phone footage of the incident went viral.

The pair is accused of punching, kicking and spitting on 77-year-old Paul Buttigieg in an attack that has outraged the nation.

Both girls have been charged with serious assault and public nuisance.

Layni, 17, screamed “I don’t want to go” as she was led to a police wagon in handcuffs yesterday.

Mr Buttigieg yesterday wept as he recounted his bus ride, describing how he couldn’t tell how many people were allegedly hitting him because he is vision-impaired. The Tweed Heads West man is blind in his right eye and can barely see from his left.

He wears a jacket at all times to alert people, but the New South Wales girls who attacked him allegedly came from behind.

“I didn’t know if there was one or two of them hitting me,” Mr Buttigieg said.

The girls, who had earlier been at the Murwillumbah races, reportedly abused several passengers before turning on Mr Buttigieg after he told them to go home.

Both will face Southport Magistrates Court this morning after an extraordinary level of condemnation of the incident on social media. Posts on The Courier-Mail's Facebook page reached a record three million users.

The duo were identified by scores of people on Facebook and Twitter and by yesterday morning police knew exactly who they were.

Police made contact with Mr Buttigieg early yesterday and he visited Coolangatta police station, wearing an “I have low vision” badge, to make a formal statement.

When Layni arrived hours later she was arrested and charged with serious assault. As she was being transferred to the Southport watchhouse in the back of a police wagon, Watmough handed herself in to Southport police station, flanked by defence lawyer Jodi Allen.

YESTERDAY'S REPORT:

A TEEN who allegedly assaulted a man on a bus wailed "I don't want to go!" as police took her away. The girl has been charged, while another is in custody.

The teen screamed at police as she was led to the police transport vehicle.

media_camera Police lead a 17-year-old girl to a police transport vehicle. The girl has been charged with assaulting an elderly man on a bus. Picture: Jeremy Pierce

"I don't want to go," she wailed.

She was taken to Southport Watchhouse.

A blonde 21-year-old woman who was allegedly involved in the attack handed herself in to police at Southport.

The two have been charged with serious assault and public nuisance.

The women remain in custody tonight and will appear before Southport Magistrates Court tomorrow.

Earlier, the brunette girl accused of attacking an elderly man on a bus has handed herself in at a Gold Coast police station and is being questioned over the alleged incident.

The 17-year-old, who was allegedly with a blonde 21-year-old on the bus, arrived at about 1.50pm and rushed past waiting media into the police station.

Earlier, Gold Coast police Acting Superintendent Brian Swan said police believed they had identified the women, and it was with the help of a slew of public tip-offs.

media_camera A 17-year-old girl is led by police to a transport vehicle after being charged with assaulting an elderly man on a bus. Picture: Channel 9

Police are expected to charge the two young women who bashed and racially vilified a partially blind indigenous man on a Gold Coast bus.

Gold Coast District Acting Superintendent Brian Swan said the victim had made a statement to police and wanted to press charges.

Supt Swan said police suspected the perpetrators were aged 17 and 21 but were yet to locate and interview them.

"We did receive a lot of calls from the public," he told reporters.

"Quite quickly this morning we were able to identify who we believe were responsible."

Supt Swan said the man suffered bruising to his arm.

"As you can imagine, he is quite upset and shaken by the incident," he said.

He said the women could face serious assault charges, which carry a maximum sentence of seven years' jail.

media_camera One of the girls who allegedly attacked a man on a bus enters a Gold Coast police station.

The women appeared intoxicated in the video, he said.

Police Minister Jack Dempsey said the incident was an "absolute disgrace".

"It's deplorable to think that an individual can think they can use this type of violence against an elderly person on a public transport vehicle," he said.

Footage of the incident where two drunk teenagers assaulted and racially abused a man, who is almost blind and aged in his 70s, has gone viral overnight.

Video of the ugly incident has attracted thousands of comments, the majority expressing disgust at the despicable behaviour, with many naming and shaming the girls believed to be responsible.

The man. 77, was found by southern Gold Coast detectives this morning and is being interviewed about the incident.

The elderly victim did not stop to talk to reporters and was driven home by detectives.

He suffered bruising to his arms and plans to make an official complaint to police

Police say they have identified his assailants, who live across the border in northern NSW.

The girls reportedly abused several people on the bus before the elderly man told them they should go home.

Footage from Channel 9 shows one of the girls saying "we’re in abo land now" before they punch and kick the elderly man.

The man tried to fight back until a passenger came forward to kick the girls off the bus.

After the incident the elderly victim had to be helped to his seat, crying ‘I’m blind, I can’t see.”

WHY MEN MUST STAND UP TO THIS VILE VIOLENCE

The incident was recorded on a camera phone by schoolgirl Rebecca Ribbons at the back of the bus.

The 13-year-old said she was shocked that no one on the bus did anything to help the man.

media_camera Two girls attack elderly indigenous man on Gold Coast bus.

“I yelled ‘somebody stop it’ and a man from behind me stood up, picked up their hats and pushed them off the bus. He was the only one who did anything.”

Rebecca said the bus driver didn’t move or say anything during the entire incident.

“He didn’t even look back. Even when the man was getting off the bus I didn’t hear him say ‘are you alright?’.”

Rebecca got off the bus at the same stop as the man and said he was still crying as he hobbled home.

“I don’t think that man will catch the bus much anymore.”

Rebecca’s mother Sharon Kendell said they took the footage of the incident to show to police.

“You never expect two young girls to beat up an old man on a bus in the middle of the day, it’s unheard of.”

“Shame on the girls, shame on the men on the bus and shame on the bus driver for not doing anything.”

media_camera The man racially abused and punched by two teenage girls on a Gold Coast bus with detectives at Coolangatta police station.

But Surfside Buslines Head of Operations Les Manson commended the driver for his actions that ‘helped ensure safety of those on board’.

“All Surfside drivers are trained in de-escalation techniques and the quick actions from this driver has mitigated an incident quickly and successfully.”

Mr Manson said Surfside took all incidents of abuse seriously.

It’s understood Surfside did not report the incident to police.

Acting chief superintendent Des Lacy said the incident was ‘abhorrent’.

“We’re asking anyone who knows the identity of the man who was assaulted or anyone who knows the identity of the offenders to ring the Coolangatta police or Crime Stoppers.”

Mr Lacy also asked the man involved to come forward to police to make a complaint.

“It’s very clearly an assault, what they’ve done and the fact that he’s blind would be a circumstance of aggravation, which means a more significant penalty can be given by the courts.”

“What surprises me is that its women who have done this, and its completely unacceptable.”

Kirrawe indigenous Corporation CEO Rosemary Norman-Hill called on the girls to apologise to the man.

“Bring them back when they’re sober, bring them back to apologise and make them responsible for their behaviour.”

“You may not be aboriginal but he’s still an elder, would you do this to your grandfather?”

She said it was unfortunate that young people were growing up without respect for the elderly.

“Once upon a time people would get up for elderly people on the train, on the bus, we don’t appear to be instilling that in our young people.”

Additional reporting Meagan Weymes, Melanie Petrinec

Originally published as Death threat claims as bus attacker wins bail