A Kent bus company which serves several towns in the county has had its licence revoked.

Jordan Cousins and Alexander Edwards — who run County Connect from their base at the Oakdene Cafe, Wrotham — have also been disqualified from operating vehicles for seven years.

The step was taken by London and South East of England Traffic Commissioner Sarah Bell following a public inquiry into the company last month.

County Connect was found to have breached a number of terms of its licence.

Among several issues flagged up it was found County Connect operated more vehicles than it was allowed to, did not keep them at Oakdene Cafe when they weren't in use and failed to produce records and licences when requested.

Mrs Bell said: “Mr Edwards failed to exercise continuous and effective management of the compliance systems and instead used part of that time to manipulate the system for commercial gain.

“In doing so, he has shown a reckless disregard for road safety, fair competition and the regulatory regime as a whole. Those are not the actions of a person capable of exercising the important duties of a reputable transport manager.”

Mr Edwards was also banned for seven years from holding his post as the firm's transport manager.

The company operated services in Tunbridge Wells, Borough Green, Tonbridge, Bluewater shopping centre, Ightham, Wateringbury, Maidstone and Sevenoaks.