Bus driver sacked after being caught short

Feb 9 2007 By Mark Cowan, Birmingham Mail

A BUS driver has been sacked for dropping his pants and relieving himself in front of horrified passers-by.

Witness watched in disbelief as the driver hung his backside out of the bus doors and let nature take its course.

The incident happened after the driver found himself caught short at a street terminus in Bromford, Birmingham.

Disgusted members of the public called police who traced the driver the following day. He was later cautioned for "outraging public decency".

Travel West Midlands chiefs today said they were "horrified" by the allegations and had taken the "ultimate sanction" available to them under the company's disciplinary procedures.

The incident happened at 5.40pm on January 29 after the driver, believed to be working on the number 26 service, had stopped his bus at the street terminus near the Racecourse pub in Bromford Drive, Bromford.

The bus was not in service and there were no passengers on board at the time.

One person said: "The bus driver hung his backside out of the bus and relieved himself in front of people. There were a lot of people who saw it and one videoed it on their mobile phone."

A West Midlands Police spokesman said: "A 40-year-old man from Alum Rock has received a caution for committing an act of outraging public decency.

A Travel West Midlands spokesman said: "I can confirm we are aware of the incident that took place on January 29 and the fact that West Midlands Police have also been involved. We were horrified with regard to the allegations that have been made.

"The driver has been interviewed under our disciplinary procedure and we have taken the ultimate sanction that is open to us as this action is gross misconduct."