'Driver ordered us off bus in heavy rain'

A mother has told of her disgust after a bus driver ordered her and her toddler to get off and walk in the pouring rain.

Lisa Smith, 37, was struggling with her 19-month-old son Oliver's buggy after getting on the number 139 in Baker Street and could not fit it in the space reserved for pushchairs.

She claims the driver stopped the bus and refused to continue unless she got off. The former music executive, from north London, said: "I couldn't believe how I was being treated. It was embarrassing and intimidating. There were only about five people on the bus. I wasn't blocking the doors.

"But when the driver saw I couldn't fit it in the space next to another buggy, he stopped the bus and started shouting at me. He opened his cab door and said, 'This bus does not move until you get off.'

"The other passengers thought it was ridiculous but he actually wanted me to take my child out into the pouring rain and walk. It was his aggression that was so shocking. It was just horrible."

Mrs Smith stood her ground, and the bus only moved when the other mother with a buggy got off. She asked for the driver's name but claims he refused and said to her: "Yeah? Good for you, have a go."

Mrs Smith said: "He was disgusting, horrible and should be reprimanded." One passenger has agreed to be a witness.

Metroline, which operates the 139 route, did not comment. Transport for London said it would investigate.