A WILTON woman has described her shock at being left in charge of a Wilts and Dorset bus after its driver stormed off.

The 50-year-old woman, who does not want to be named, said she found herself put on the spot after "politely asking the driver" why he was three-quarters-of-an hour late.

She said: "I was waiting for the bus outside Marks and Spencer on Sunday afternoon and it was 45 minutes or so late. When it pulled up I asked the driver quite nicely why it was so late.

"He became abusive and swore at me, saying he had been late for work and the traffic was bad. I said that was not really a very good excuse, whereupon he swore at me again, got up, put on his coat and stormed off, telling me I could look after the bus.

"I called the police and asked them to come and try and sort things out. Then a second driver arrived but he was angry and all he said was that he was taking the bus out of service.

"Thankfully, the police arrived and the officer persuaded the man to drive the bus to Wilton."

Gerald Good, district manager for Wilts & Dorset, said the company was aware of the incident following information from the police.

He said: "As far as the incident is concerned it is being fully investigated."