NORTH-EAST bus company Arriva has been forced to apologise after a woman passenger complained that one of its drivers rudely refused a fare.

Mother-of-two Vicky Turnbull, from Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, says she was turned away because the bus was running late and the driver had decided to cut short his route.

Mrs Turnbull, 30, who was rushing home to pick up her children, Joseph and George, wrote to Arriva, which apologised for the "less than helpful" behaviour of one of its staff.

The company, which runs about 500 buses in County Durham, Teesside and North Yorkshire, said it was not policy for drivers to cut short their route without authorisation.

Mrs Turnbull, a dental nurse, said: "The whole thing was just ridiculous and I was just stunned by the driver's behaviour.

"He was rude and would not look me in the eye and kept looking at his watch as well."

The bus involved, a 15B, had arrived 20 minutes late when Mrs Turnbull went to get onboard in Darlington, last Monday.

It would usually drop her off in Bluebell Way, near her home on the Bluebell Park Estate, Newton Aycliffe.

However, she claims that the driver told her that the bus would be terminating at Newton Aycliffe town centre, a longer walk away.

Mrs Turnbull said: "Buses do run late, but they shouldn't just stop. Where I work, for instance, if you are running behind, the patient still has to be seen."

In a letter to Mrs Turnbull, Kevin Poskett, assistant district manager for Arriva North East, said: "Arriva invest a considerable amount of time and money on staff training and customer care.

"It is quite apparent from your comments that this driver could do with a further visit to our training school.

"I will be seeing this member of staff under the company disciplinary procedures and he will be left in no uncertain terms as to what is expected from anyone that is working for Arriva."

Kevin Douglas, of Arriva, said: "The matter has been looked into and dealt with accordingly.