BUS drivers refused to use their vehicles yesterday in a row over tax discs.

Nearly 30 Stagecoach buses were off the roads in Stockton after their discs became out-of-date and the drivers refused to break the law.

Yesterday was the expiry date on 26 of the buses, and drivers were instructed by the Transport and General Workers' Union not to put their licences at risk, despite Stagecoach apparently having sought permission from police to drive them.

However, a police spokeswoman said she did not know of any such approval. She said: "We do not know where they have got that information from.

"I do not know who in the police they have spoken to, but we are not aware the police had given permission."

However, she said the drivers probably would not have been prosecuted for the out-of-date discs, which are now believed to have been replaced after new ones were delivered in the afternoon.

She said: "They were only a couple of days out, and we do not usually target people who are only a couple of days out; it is the people who are a long way out and have no intention of paying."

Stagecoach said the problem arose because the discs had not been delivered by the Post Office. A spokesman said: "They have now been delivered and the situation has been resolved."