A PENSIONER was left 10 miles from home after being banned from getting on the bus with a tin of paint.

Brian Wakley of Cedar Drive, Sandford, near Wareham, had just bought the £3.75 tin of green fence paint from the In Excess DIY store in Ashley Road, Parkstone when he boarded the 1B Bournemouth to Poole Transdev Yellow bus directly opposite the store, at around 3.30pm on Thursday.

Mr Wakley said he was ordered off the bus by the driver who told him it was against regulations for him to take the sealed 5 litre tin of water-based paint onto the bus.

The pensioner was forced to call a friend who was able to pick him up and take him home.

He has since complained to the company.

Mr Wakley said: “The driver said I was not allowed on the bus because it was a banned substance and against regulations.

“I had to get a friend to come out by car. I took the liberty of phoning up the paint company and spoke to the customer relations department. They said that the paint is not dangerous. It is just a water-based product and not going to cause any damage.

“I am disgusted with Yellow Buses. You see people take alcohol on board buses and all sorts of things and it’s no problem.

“Nobody has got any common sense.”

Ed Wills, Yellow Buses’ Head of Operations, said: “We never willingly turn away passengers who wish to use our services. However, all transport operators have Conditions of Carriage which clearly state the conditions under which we carry passengers and their property. The section covering luggage states: ‘No bulky, cumbersome, explosive, combustible, or other hazardous items will be carried.’ “I recognise that the issue of carrying paint on buses is something some people may think is a minor issue but, unfortunately, over the years we have experienced instances of paint being accidentally dropped by passengers and spilling over the floor, onto seats and splashing other passengers.

“Rules can be open to interpretation and we rely on our drivers to exercise discretion when dealing with issues such as this.

“They do a difficult job, often having to make snap decisions and in this case the driver clearly felt that by allowing this gentleman on the bus with the paint it would breach our Conditions of Carriage.”