A TEENAGER was left stranded in an area she didn’t know after a bus driver kicked her off.

Now 15-year-old Ella Claydon’s dad, Mark, wants better training for drivers and for passengers to be made more aware of their rights.

Mark, from Ferndown, said Ella, who lives in Ramsgate, Kent, was left scared and upset by the experience.

She was on her way to an appointment in Three Legged Cross when the driver of the X6 Wilts and Dorset bus told her that her pre-paid ticket was not valid from the stop she tried to get on, despite her doing the journey previously several times.

Mark said: “She showed him the ticket and he said it wasn’t valid for the bus stop so she would have to pay the money or get off the bus.

“She didn’t have the money and he just stared at the window until she got off. She was in tears and had to walk down a country lane to try to find the next stop.”

Ella, who was 14 at the time of the incident, then contacted her dad and a taxi was arranged for her to get home.

Mark said he had an apology from the bus company and some free tickets, but said he wanted drivers to be aware that they should not throw people, especially children off the bus.

“You hear stories about things that have happened to girls in situations like that.

“My daughter could have gone walking off down a country lane and someone could have seen her and dragged her off.

“There are policies out there that bus drivers just have to take details if someone can’t pay a fare.

“I feel that we need to do something to educate drivers and children as well as to their rights.

“We have a responsibility to protect our children.”

Ella said: “I was scared and upset because I didn’t know where I was.

“It was embarrassing because there were people on the bus.”

A spokesman for Wilts and Dorset said: “We take any complaint of actions that may compromise the safety of our customers, be they young or elderly, very seriously.

“We are instructing our drivers to take a more considerate approach to anyone who may be regarded as vulnerable in a similar situation.

“However, as with all bus operators we do have set fares, which have to be collected by our drivers.

“We again apologise to Mr Clayton and Ella.”