by Jamie Bullen

jbullen@thekmgroup.co.uk

A bus driver suspended after a 13-year-old girl fell from his moving vehicle has been reinstated after the operators claimed the injuries were due to a “prank”.

Michael George has been told by his employers Redroute he can return to work three weeks after Hextable School student Shannon Dring suffered injuries on her way home.

Shannon, of Horton Road, South Darenth, suffered cuts and bruises to her face and body after tumbling off the bus shortly after it had stopped to let other children get off.

Redroute officials investigated the incident and found no faults with the doors, claiming they could have only been opened when another pupil pressed the emergency button.

Director Susan Mee said: “That person may now be afraid of potential consequences. Other children may be seeking to divert attention by blaming it on faulty doors as they do not want to name the culprit.”

They claim the children gave conflicting reports of where the youngster stood on the bus and refuted claims she had stood up to let someone else pass.
Mr George started work again on Monday but has been placed on another route.

The school said it was continuing to investigate the incident and did not believe it was a result of horseplay.

Head teacher Peter Dalton said: “To date, it would appear that student involvement was not a contributory factor. We are continuing to speak to as many students as possible.

“Our students and ourselves were shocked by the incident and wish only to ensure this or any other similar incident does not occur again.”

Shannon’s father Ash Dring said he was looking for an independent body to give their ruling on what happened before deciding his next move and has contacted Kent County Council.

He said: “At the moment it is a bit of a mud-slinging exercise with both sides in direct conflict with one another. No one has so far put anything into practice to prevent the problem from happening again.

“I will be doing some more digging and there is a possibility I will be taking this further because I haven’t got the answers I wanted.”