Bus driver banned after accident

A driver who was at the wheel of a bus that ploughed into another at Walsall bus station injuring 16 passengers has been banned from the road for six months.

Two women were trapped underneath one of the buses for two hours after Paul Love's vehicle lurched forward on February 20 this year.

Walsall magistrates heard that an elderly woman suffered a broken shoulder and pelvis, another had severe cuts to the back of her head, while a third passenger suffered an injury to his achilles tendon.

Mr Colin Heald, prosecuting, said the drama unfolded when Love's stationary Arriva bus went into the rear of another waiting in front at 11.55am.

This struck the back of a third bus, onto which passengers were boarding at the time.

The accident brought the bus station in St Paul's Street to a standstill as emergency services battled to help the injured.

Mr Heald said that during his police interview, Love denied pressing on the accelerator pedal instead of the foot brake, and he told the court that tests by the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency did not find any mechanical faults.

Yesterday the 61-year-old of Freemantle Drive, Wimblebury, Cannock, admitted one charge of driving a mechanically propelled vehicle without due care and attention.

Mr David Jaffa, defending, said his client, who had held a clean licence after 40 years as a driver, had been sacked but was appealing for unfair dismissal.