A woman from Bucks said she was left ‘really upset’ after she claims an ‘aggressive’ Arriva bus driver called her an idiot.

Bridget Bean, 59, who lives in High Wycombe, said she has a non-visible disability that would allow her to live “comfortably” on benefits, but she prefers to contribute to society through her hospitality job in Marlow, which she “really enjoys”.

She also makes an effort to keep healthy, cycling to work each morning before folding up her bike and taking it with her on the bus back home.

Usually, she said bus drivers let her keep the folded bike by her feet in the disabled seats, but on the afternoon of Tuesday, August 15, it was a different story.

She claimed: “There was plenty of room next to me in the disabled seat, but the driver insisted it went in the overhead basket. I struggled to get it up there but luckily, a kind young traveller helped me to put it in.

“When I got to my stop, however, I couldn’t get it out, I was wrestling with it and said I usually keep it next to my seat. There was another driver there too and he aggressively told me that the disabled seats were only for children’s buggies.

“I told them that I’m disabled, so I’m allowed to sit in that spot, and they looked at each other with this horrible kind of side-eye.

“I lost my temper a bit and called him an idiot – and the first driver said, ‘No, you are!’”

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Bridget said she usually makes an effort to be considerate to other people on the bus and, since her shift involves being on her feet a lot, is grateful to be able to use the disabled seats on her way back from work.

She said she now thinks twice about catching the bus on her way home, double-checking which driver is on shift before getting onboard, and said she is concerned about the kind of training being given by Arriva to its employees.

She said: “I emailed Arriva and they said they’ll try to find and speak to the driver concerned but they said I won’t find out the outcome because of policy. I know how difficult work can be sometimes but there was no need to treat me like that.

“To be so rude and insensitive to a disabled passenger is really unbelievable in this day and age.”

A spokesperson for Arriva said: “We take reports such as this very seriously and we would like to ask that the individual reporting this incident contacts our customer service team so full details can be taken and the report fully investigated.”