AN 86-YEAR-OLD woman was left frightened after a Yellow Bus driver in Bournemouth ordered her off on a dark wet evening because the service was terminating.

Jean Kopec is in the habit of catching the bus from outside her home at the top of Alumhurst Road and remaining on it while it travels down to Alum Chine and back so she doesn’t have to cross the busy road.

But the bus she got on terminated at Beaulieu Road and the driver insisted she leave the bus and walk.

She then saw the driver turn off the service lights on the bus, travel towards Alum Chine and then loop back to pass her on the other side of the road as she struggled home.

Her furious niece, Anita Coates, complained to Yellow Buses after Jean told her she was cold, shaken and soaking wet by the time she walked home.

“The driver told her to get off and said she was wasting taxpayers’ money by riding to Alum Chine and back on the bus” said Anita.

“This is absolutely unforgiveable.

“My auntie has had a heart bypass and has trouble walking very far. It must have taken her ages to get home and it was a horrible night – she didn’t know the bus was going to terminate where it did.

“What made it worse was that the bus driver turned round and came back, driving past her as she struggled up the road.”

Jean said: “I can honestly say I never thought I would make it home. When I got there I was very shaken but what could I do?

“I was really frightened when the driver put me off the bus because I didn’t know exactly where I was.”

Jenni Wilkinson, head of marketing at Yellow Buses, said: “If the service had been making a return journey then, of course, we would have been happy for Mrs Kopec to remain on board.

“However, this particular service had terminated and the bus was re-positioning for another route.

“In these circumstances, we are not permitted by law to carry a fare-paying passenger and, therefore, the driver was correct to point this out.

“We are, though, disappointed that in view of the age of Mrs Kopec, the matter does not appear to have been handled more sensitively by our driver.

“We will be taking this up with him but, in the meantime, we extend our apologies to Mrs Kopec and her family for the obvious distress that has been caused.”