Christine Stock, of Colerne, has told of her nightmare journey to Stansted Airport after a National Express driver thought she was trying to hijack his coach.

Mrs Stock, 52, of Forrester Green, had booked her ticket over the Internet and planned to get on the Bath to Stansted coach at Batheaston at 4.50am, as she had done before.

When she saw the coach driving towards her she waved her ticket but it failed to stop.

"It nearly ran me down. My husband and I were really shocked," said Mrs Stock.

The couple decided to follow the coach in their van to the next stop, because Mrs Stock, who is half Italian, was due to fly to Italy to be reunited with a cousin she had not seen for 28 years.

The coach driver, seeing he was being followed, called the police and said he was being hijacked.

The police stopped Mrs Stock and her husband Liam, six miles later.

"The police asked the driver if he had any passengers missing and he said there was one missing from his list. The police then said he should let me on the bus as I was that passenger and had a ticket," said Mrs Stock.

"The driver said he thought I would get on at Bath, but there was nothing on my ticket specifying that I had to and I had been given the times for the coach at Batheaston," she said.

The police then left and the driver refused to let her board.

"He said it was not a designated stop and so I could not get on. I then had to follow him all the way to Chippenham."

Mrs Stock said she was extremely upset by the situation.

"I asked him why he did not stop in Batheaston and he accused me of being rude," she said.

"He just stamped his feet and said 'I am not taking this coach to London at all now.'"

The driver then radioed his bosses and tried to get Mrs Stock removed from the coach.

"As he spoke to his bosses I just went and sat down. They must have told him to let me on after that," she said.

"I was in tears and I felt sick for the rest of the journey.

"It could have ruined my entire holiday if I did not get that coach."

Mrs Stock said she could not understand why the driver was rude to her.

"I had done nothing wrong. I had a ticket and he was the one mistaken and he did not even apologise," she said.

"Even if he thought I was a hijacker once the police had spoken to him and he checked my details he should have let me on."

She said the other passengers on the coach were also surprised by the driver's behaviour.

"The woman behind me said she saw me holding my ticket up at Batheaston and it was obvious that I wanted to get on the bus," Mrs Stock said

"She said she didn't know why the bus hadn't stopped.

"I made a complaint to National Express but I am yet to hear any results.

"I don't want any money, I want the driver to be dealt with.

"If he is working with the public he should know how to be polite to them."

Sarah Horton, the spokesman for National Express said: "We are grateful to Mrs Stock for bringing this particular incident to our attention and have arranged to interview the driver involved.

"We will obviously get back in touch with her as soon as we have done so.

"We have also advised the operators involved of her more general concerns regarding coaches missing stops in the area and will be taking steps to try to ensure that this doesn't happen in future."