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A furious mum is demanding action from a bus company after her toddler was flipped over in her buggy while travelling on the Thanet Loop service.
Jade Grove had been on the bus in Margate with her daughter Robyn, who has just turned three, when she claims the vehicle took a corner “too fast” and the pushchair rolled over, trapping the child inside.
The 29-year-old leapt out of her seat to try to right the buggy, while calling out for the vehicle to be stopped.
But Miss Grove, from Margate, says the bus continued on up the hill towards the town’s fire station in Grosvenor Gardens.
“I called out ‘please can you stop the bus?’ as I was struggling to pick it up and it was rolling up the bus,” she said.
“Everyone just watched me - no one helped.
“My daughter was incredibly frightened and shaken but they all just sat there, ignoring what was happening.
“I took Robyn up to A&E to get her checked out as she had a big bump on her head and bruising on her chin.”
The mum, who had been coming back from Westwood Cross, says the buggy’s brakes were on and Robyn was strapped into the pushchair, which she was sat next to in the seats reserved for parents with prams.
In emails to the mum from Stagecoach, seen by the Thanet Extra, operations manager Phillip Morgan says the driver will be spoken to about her complaint.
Miss Grove says the bus firm took weeks to respond and she claims she only received a “pathetic apology”.
“They offered to send a bus for me and Robyn to go on and said she could run around on it and ring the bells, but why would I do that?” she said.
“Surely that just teaches her it’s OK to run around on a bus.
“My daughter was incredibly frightened and shaken but they all just sat there, ignoring what was happening..." Mum Jade Groves
“I just want them to accept what’s happened, to actually respond to my emails so I can take this further and give me a sincere apology.”
Matthew Maytum, spokesman for Stagecoach, confirmed a complaint has been made and investigated and followed up with Miss Grove.
“Our local team offered to meet with the parent and child involved, but this was declined,” he said.
“We take incidents such as this extremely seriously and we’re keen to get back in contact with the parent to discuss what happened.
“The safety of our passengers is always our top priority.”
