Mum’s fury as children ‘kicked off’ Southend school bus over behaviour claims

The woman told how her two children - her 13-year-old daughter, and 11-year-old son - could have potentially been left to walk for two miles back to their home off Victoria Avenue, in Southend, after an Arriva bus driver ordered the group to get off the bus by Warners Bridge, a park near to Southend Airport.

The children had boarded the bus near their school, The King Edmund School, in Vaughan Close, Rochford.

Thankfully, the siblings’ mum was able to drive out to meet the pair.

Had she not, they would have left with no choice but to cross busy roads including the A127 at Prince Avenue.

The 34-year-old mum, who did not want to be named, said: “It is lucky I was around when they called me to tell me they needed picking up as the bus driver had kicked them all off the bus.

“They told me it’s because loads of children were ringing the bell.

“I have been back and forth with Arriva since to ask if this is common practice and whether I have to worry about this sort of thing happening again because I rely heavily on the kids coming home from school on that bus as I work and go to uni.

“They have just constantly fobbed me off and their responses have been disgusting.”

Bus company Arriva confirmed a number of schoolchildren were asked to “leave the vehicle” as a result of their behaviour.

An Arriva spokesman said: “We can confirm there was an incident where a number of schoolchildren were reportedly abusive towards our driver and were asked to leave the vehicle.

“Arriva reported the incident to the school and the matter is now under Arriva internal investigation.”

However, The King Edmund School stated they had not been contacted by Arriva about the incident which happened before half-term earlier this month.

A school spokesman, said: “The King Edmund School is unaware of this incident and have not been contacted by Arriva in regard to any incident that occurred on this day.”