A school bus driver must pay a £375 court bill after a child fell from his vehicle.

The court heard the boy was among 15 to 20 children getting off the bus in York Road, Elvington, on April 24.

Witnesses told police the bus door was open before the vehicle stopped.

Prosecutor Angela Smith told York magistrates the boy slipped on the steps, which were wet from rain, and fell out of the vehicle.

Driver Brian John Hutton has never been in trouble with the police during 23 years of driving school buses, said his solicitor Sandra Mullan.

The 48-year-old from Osbaldwick Lane, Tang Hall, pleaded guilty to failing to ensure the safety of his passengers and failing to report within 24 hours an accident in which a person was injured.

Magistrates fined him £325 with £50 costs and put seven penalty points on his licence. They said school bus drivers had to have a greater level of responsibility than other drivers.

Mrs Smith said the boy complained of suffering from concussion.

Ms Mullan said Hutton was shocked about what had happened.

On the day of the accident, he had opened the door "momentarily" before the bus stopped, as was "common practice" by bus drivers. Normally this caused no risk to passengers because they stand well back from the door.

But this did not always apply with schoolchildren.

"There does tend to be shoving and pushing, there does tend to be a huddle at the door, anxious to get out," said Ms Mullan.

Hutton had now changed his driving behaviour.

He had coped with verbal abuse from schoolchildren for 23 years and had contacted schools about it, but nothing happened.

"Bus drivers are expected to be perfect, unfortunately, the same is not expected of the children using the bus service. He feels quite hardly treated," said Ms Mullan.

He had not reported the accident because about 15 to 20 children had got off the bus at that stop and he had not known anything had happened until the next day.

Hutton has been driving since 1975.

Updated: 08:51 Thursday, June 28, 2001