A BUS driver may face disciplinary action after a bus stop scuffle in which a driver from a rival company said he was assaulted.

Trouble flared after Alan Simmons, 32, a driver for the Nu-Venture company, arrived at the stop in Maidstone five minutes ahead of time and parked, waiting for his shift to start.

But Mr Simmons, of Elmwood Road, Chattenden, near Rochester, was then spotted by a driver from the Arriva bus company who, Mr Simmons claims, hurled abuse at him from his cab when he refused to leave the stop.

The other driver then climbed down from his bus and allegedly grabbed Mr Simmons by the shoulder, ripping his T-shirt.

Mr Simmons, a father of one, said: "He grabbed my shoulder, scratched my neck and threatened to put my head through the windscreen."

Mr Simmons reported the incident to an Arriva inspector at the Chequers Centre in Maidstone and later made a statement to the police. He believes the Arriva driver should be sacked.

Mr Simmons said: "He was very abusive and aggressive and I had a 13-or 14-year-old passenger on board who could hear and see it all.

"Initially, I just wanted to be compensated for my T-shirt and sent a written apology, but I decided to report it to the police."

But when he went to the police to report the incident, which happened on April 25, he was told they were too busy and that he should sleep on it. He was advised to return in the morning if he decided he still wanted to take action.

An Arriva spokesman confirmed that the company had investigated Mr Simmons' claims.

She said: "There was an incident in Maidstone town centre involving a disagreement between an Arriva bus driver and a Nu-Venture bus driver. Both drivers have been interviewed by Arriva's local operations manager and, as a result, the relevant part of Arriva's disciplinary procedure will now be invoked.

"We understand that the matter is now resolved. It appears the disagreement occurred because of reduced space for buses at Queens Monument in Maidstone."

The Aylesford-based Nu-Venture bus company declined to comment. A Medway Police spokesman said: "No caution has been issued."