The family of an elderly woman with Alzheimer's say she could easily have died after being locked on a charity's minibus.

Beryl Harris, who is 87, was mistakenly left on the bus after the driver forgot to drop her home in Leysdown, Sheppey.

Instead, they returned to the Age UK centre in Bay View, parked up and left for the weekend.

The alarm was raised only after carers knocked at Beryl's flat door later that Friday to find no answer, so alerted her family at about 7pm.

Granddaughter Gemma Cunningham, of Warden, said: "I got a phone call to say the carers could not get in.

"I went down there and realised nan wasn't there.

"We thought she had gone walkabout or something."

Gemma, 34, said she could not get through to Age UK but had the private number of a staff member who said everyone had been dropped back home.

"Then we really started to panic," added Gemma.

"She's usually back before 4pm."

Video: Angry family speak out after nan locked on bus

With a number of people out looking, a call came in from Age UK to say Beryl had been found on the bus.

Initially, there was confusion about what had happened until it became apparent she had been locked on the bus from about 3.45pm to nearly 7.30pm.

"They were laughing and joking saying nan probably had a kip," said Gemma.

"I said it's not a laughing and joking matter.

"If nan didn't have family she would have been left on there. She would not have been found until the Monday.

"An old person wouldn't have lasted more than a day. She would have been dead."

Beryl's daughter Tina, 52, Gemma's mum, added: "I was just numb. I couldn't believe it."

The family made an official complaint to Age UK and said they were not happy for Beryl to keep attending the centre in Mustards Road.

She was taken to the charity's Sheerness branch but the provision of transport stopped at the end of last month.

An investigation into the incident, which happened in July, was carried out and included disciplinary action against the driver.

Age UK has also implemented changes but Gemma and Tina say they do not understand how the employee kept their job.

Mum-of-two Gemma said: "If I'd left the kids in the car, I'd have had social services on my back. If she'd died they'd be up for manslaughter."

Chairman of Age UK Alan Doucy said: “We are truly sorry for this incident and the upset caused and have apologised to our client and their family.

“Our number one priority is to ensure the safety of all older people in our care so we are very disappointed to have fallen short of that.

“Following the incident we took immediate steps to investigate how this occurred, as well as implementing our formal disciplinary procedure with the member of staff concerned.

"In line with our regulatory responsibilities we reported the incident to Kent County Council, the Charity Commission and Age UK, and continue to work closely with them.

“We have now put in place new measures and processes to try and ensure this kind of situation could not happen again.

"These include, appointing additional drivers, extra training for staff who drive minibuses, updating our record-keeping process, and ongoing discussions with KCC regarding our transport to further strengthen our policies and processes.

"We are also investing in digital record-keeping system to further improve our systems.

“We have also met with the family since the outcome of our investigation to listen to their concerns, and took steps to ensure this was as objective and transparent as possible. Throughout this period we have taken every step to ensure our client was supported and that they still visited the centre.”

Mr Doucy sought to reassure people who use Age UK’s services that it was an isolated incident.

He advised anyone with concerns to contact Age UK Sheppey on 01795 662562.

County councillor Andy Booth (Con) has been supporting the family. He said: "As a councillor for Sheppey I have an obligation to stand up for the wellness, safe-being and safeguarding of every member of the community."

He described the situation as "utterly disgraceful" and even called on the Age UK board to resign.

KCC is also investigating.

Its spokesman said: “KCC was informed of an incident in which a service user was left unattended on a minibus for several hours at Age UK Sheppey in Mustards Road.

“The incident is being treated extremely seriously and a safeguarding enquiry has been launched into the circumstances. This investigation is ongoing.

“KCC staff are working with the family to ensure the individual concerned continues to receive appropriate care and support.”