A BUS company has apologised after a wheelchair-bound pensioner was reduced to tears by the "outrageous" behaviour of one of its drivers.

Anita Liddle said she felt humiliated after the driver refused to lower the manually-operated wheelchair ramp on his bus.

Other angry passengers, who had to help Mrs Liddle on to the bus, also rang Arriva Yorkshire to complain that the driver had set off before they had time to wheel her into the wheelchair space.

Mrs Liddle had been out shopping to Leeds and was in the queue to catch a bus back to Sherburn-in-Elmet.

She said: "The driver just sat there and said he hadn't been trained how to lower the ramp. Another passenger then came over and lowered it, using one finger.

"I was furious and extremely upset. I felt like an alien species.

"I spent the entire journey trying to make myself as inconspicuous as possible - it was dreadful."

Passenger Carol Coley, of Pinfold Garth, Sherburn-in-Elmet, also complained to Arriva.

She said: "Mrs Liddle was distraught and crying and it was obvious the bus driver had no intention of helping her.

"I approached him and he said 'All you need to do is lift the catch', which I did with one finger. That's how easy it was.

"To make matters worse, Mrs Liddle hadn't got her wheelchair parked properly in the space and three women who were helping her weren't even seated when he drove off.

"Mrs Liddle ended up half in and half out of the space with her back to everybody. It was outrageous."

Mavis Bulmer, 65, of Orchard Cottages, Sherburn, was also on the bus. She said: "It was disgusting. The driver was arrogant and just couldn't be bothered."

Arriva today apologised to Mrs Liddle and said they were investigating the incident.

Managing director Neale Wallace said: "We will be contacting Mrs Liddle and apologise unreservedly for any inconvenience or embarrassment caused."

He said Arriva had invested significantly in providing accessibility for wheelchair users and customer care training for their drivers.

Updated: 16:12 Tuesday, August 27, 2002