11/06/2003

School bus driver suspended as 'unsafe' vehicle claim investigated

Education bosses have suspended a school bus driver in Londonderry after he refused to drive pupils to school to sit their GCSE exam.

Billy Kerr claimed his vehicle was unsafe to drive and subsequently told pupils they could not get on.

Six girls at St Cecilia's College in Londonderry were eventually collected by school staff and driven to the exam. They were allowed an additional 20 minutes at the end of their paper to catch up.

The Western Education and Library Board has now suspended the driver. However, Mr Kerr and his colleagues said they had been complaining for months about conditions on some of the buses as well as their reliability.

An investigation into the incident is now being carried out.

(MB)

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