ANGRY BUS DRIVERS

Peter Trill, 69, said he was treated like a criminal by a First bus driver who withheld his pass, believing wrongly it was being used fraudulently The driver suspected fraud as the pass had been used twice within minutes. This was because Mr Trill had boarded one bus, then exited to collect a shopping bag he left at a bus shelter before boarding another one shortly afterwards.

He said: "Because I had used my card twice in five minutes, he (the driver) grabbed it from me and took it away. I told him I had used it twice but he said he was not giving it back.

"It was obvious it was mine and was not being used fraudulently because it had my picture on it. He was a right little Hitler. He treated me like rubbish – it was a ridiculous situation."

Mr Trill, who lives in Redland, said the driver on the number 41 service eventually saw sense and returned the pass, allowing the pensioner to travel from the Bristol Royal Infirmary to his home off Whiteladies Road.

By The Bristol Post

Gordon received a £1,000 cheque from ROSCO – the Road Operators’ Safety Council – sponsoring the BDoY top prize for the first time. He also received £500 from Unite the Union and was awarded the John Boxall Medallion as national champion (John founded Bus Driver of the Year in Coventry in 1967). A further £500 was awarded to Gordon as highest-placed competitor from the Stagecoach Group and £50 accompanied by the Giles Fearnley Trophy as best-placed driver from England.