'Bus driver saw my dad fall and drove away'

The daughter of a 74-year-old man who fell while running to catch a bus said she is "fuming" that the driver did not stop to check if he was OK.

James Bentley, from Birkenhead in Wirral, said he is "certain" the Stagecoach driver saw him running and subsequently hit the ground.

His daughter, Jenny Rowland, 40, has submitted a formal complaint to the company. She told the BBC: "Surely he could have at least got off and made sure he was OK? Because he's just drove off the way he did, I'm fuming."

A Stagecoach spokesperson said the company had received a formal complaint and they were conducting an internal investigation.

Bentley, a retired binman, said: "I thought it was very disrespectful.

"I thought he would have got off and checked on me, to see if I was OK and that, but he didn't. He just drove off."

Bentley said he had just come off another bus on Upton Road and wanted to catch the Number 16 service to Landican Cemetery.

He saw the bus approaching and broke into a jog.

"I struggle with my legs badly," he told the BBC.

"As I got round the corner, the bus stopped opposite the Horse and Jockey pub.

"There was a lady there, and she asked me 'do I want this bus?'. I put me hand up to say yeah - and that's when I went down on the floor.

"I could not move, I couldn't get up."

Bentley said he had fractured two ribs, damaged his thigh, suffered a deep cut on one finger and was left with two black eyes as a result of the fall.

He said the woman who had shouted to ask if he wanted the bus had stepped on board, and he believes she "must have said something" to the driver - but still he did not pull over.

However, Bentley said he was grateful to a woman and a man in a high-vis jacket who came to his assistance.

After learning the ambulance would not reach them for a couple of hours, the man who had come to his aid drove Bentley to Arrowe Park Hospital, where he spent eight hours in A&E before being discharged.

"I'm absolutely aching and I can't can barely move off my chair," he said.

"My ribs are just constantly killing me.

"I'm fighting not to sneeze because when I sneeze, I get a terrible sharp pain in my ribs."

Bentley's daughter, a support worker has filed a complaint with Stagecoach.

"I mean, surely he could have at least got off and made sure he was OK," she said

"I'm fuming. Very disrespectful... Seeing my dad all bruised and battered - it's not nice."

A spokesperson for Stagecoach said they had been in touch with Rowland: "The safety and wellbeing of our community is our absolute priority, and we were concerned to hear of the injuries sustained by Mr Bentley.

"We wish him a full and speedy recovery."

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