A mum was left shocked after being asked to fold her pushchair down on a bus - to make way for a dog in a pram.

Vicky Shirley got on the Stagecoach service near Dame Janet Primary Academy in Ramsgate with her four children on Thursday afternoon.

She was asked by the bus driver to take her two-year-old daughter out of her pushchair and fold it down to make space for a pram.

The 36-year-old thought it was fine at first as she believed it was a child in the pram - but she then saw it was in fact a West Highland white terrier.

Stagecoach bosses say they are now investigating the incident.

Vicky's partner, Luke Till, says she called him in disbelief after it happened.

"Vicky got on the bus with our four children who are two, four, five and seven," he said. "As she boarded the bus outside the school she was asked to take our two-year-old out of the pushchair and fold it down.

"She believed it was acceptable as she just saw a pram at first so assumed it had a child in it. When she sat down she noticed it had a dog in it and she called me as she was shocked."

Mr Till says he thinks the safety of his daughter should have come above the dog's.

"The bus driver would have seen it was a dog in the pram. My partner could only see the back of the pram until she walked past the people and the pushchair," he said.

"I do think the driver should have given priority to my daughter. The safety of a two-year-old should come before the safety of a dog which could have been sat on the owner's lap."

The 28-year-old posted about the incident on Facebook and his post gained a huge reaction.

"I think the reason the dog is in a pram is down to lazy owners," he added.

"Our younger children thought it was funny that a dog was in a pushchair."

More than 200 people have commented on Mr Till's post.

One user commented: "That's pretty funny, hope you said no and asked why the dog is in a pram when its got four legs."

"If you’re on the bus first then the other party should fold theirs," another said.

"I get it if they are an elderly dog and can't manage to get around but everyone is doing it now it's like a trend..."

Another commented they think putting dogs in a pram is becoming a trend.

"This is my number one pet peeve at the moment," they said.

"I get it if they are an elderly dog and can't manage to get around but everyone is doing it now it's like a trend.

"I don't get the logic of the bus driver."

A spokesperson for Stagecoach said: "We're concerned to hear about this and we're very sorry if a customer with a child was asked to fold their pushchair to help accommodate what turned out to be a dog in a pram.

"Our team are investigating the incident."