A driver sacked after his bus was involved in a crash in Walsall which killed a woman and injured 16 people has lost a compensation claim for unfair dismissal.

John Connolly was at the wheel of a bus which crashed into another at Walsall bus station in July 2007.

Pedestrian Jean Crump, aged 65, was killed as she walked along a pedestrian crossing, while her friend Jennifer Fiddler was among those injured. The drama brought Walsall town centre to a standstill.

Mr Connolly, of Darwin Close, Burntwood, was sacked by Arriva Midlands Ltd following an investigation and charged with causing death by dangerous driving. But he was cleared by a jury at Wolverhampton Crown Court in March this year.

He appeared at a two-day Birmingham Employment Tribunal in October claiming he had been dismissed unfairly, maintaining his plea that the crash was a result of a mechanical fault. Arriva opposed the claim of the driver.

Birmingham Employment Tribunal yesterday decided that Arriva Midlands acted in a reasonable manner in dismissing John Connolly of Burntwood.

Mr Connolly had denied the crash had been caused by his driving error.