A BUS company has suspended one of its drivers after he was found guilty of assaulting a schoolboy.

Ivan Greaves, of Stagecoach North-East, stopped his bus and jumped out, grabbing the 14-year-old by the shoulder.

A complaint was made to police and, earlier this month, he was convicted of assault, although he denied the offence.

The driver, of Ruby Street, Darlington, was suspended by Stagecoach last Friday following his appearance at Bishop Auckland Magistrates' Court.

He was given a conditional discharge for 12 months and ordered to pay £250 costs and £25 compensation for the assault, which took place on September 29 last year.

Greaves, who drives the X90 Newcastle bus and a twice-daily school run, will remain suspended on full pay until a decision is taken over his future.

Stagecoach North-East has indicated that it is still willing to employ Greaves, but is taking advice from Durham County Council, which has a contract with the bus company, and could bar him from school runs.

Richard Cramner, Stagecoach divisional traffic manager in Darlington, said: "The company knew about the incident, and we spoke to the police and took the view that he was innocent until proven guilty.

"The boy involved was not a passenger and it just happened that Ivan was driving a bus at the time.

"From what I can gather, there was some ill-feeling between them from the past and words were exchanged.

"We are now working with Durham County Council to make sure they are happy to have him continue driving, but until a decision is made he remains suspended."

Mr Cramner said Mr Greaves had a clean four-and-a-half-year employment record with the company.

"We would never employ anyone who we believed to be a danger to children," he added.

A spokesman for Durham County Council said: "This was brought to our attention by the manager of Stagecoach as this man does school runs for us.

"We are waiting to hear the full account of what happened and will make a decision on whether we continue to use him."