A BUS was seized by police after its 66-year-old driver was found to have no valid licence or insurance.

Elderly passengers were forced to leave the bus, operated by Darwen Coach Services, after the man behind the wheel was told to pull over.

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Police said they stopped the number 38 Darwen to Belmont bus in Bolton Road, Lower Darwen, as part of an ongoing enforcement operation at 1pm yesterday.

Officers said the driver, who is from Darwen, was not arrested at the scene, but was reported for driving with no insurance and driving without the relevant category on his licence.

Bosses at Darwen Coach Services said an internal enquiry has been launched and it would await the result of police investigations before taking any further action.

Transport manager Peter Graham confirmed the driver, who has worked for the company for more than 20 years, has been suspended.

Blackburn with Darwen Council’s highways boss Cllr Phil Riley said the authority would also be investigating the matter.

The Lancashire Telegraph understands there were three elderly male passengers on the bus when it was stopped. One walked off towards Blackburn and the other two were driven home by police officers.

Mr Graham said the company did offer to send a replacement bus out but the passengers declined.

He also said that a new bus was sent out and service resumed as normal along the route later in the afternoon.

Mr Graham said: “As far as I am aware the driver has not renewed his driving licence.

“We as a company have to check out drivers’ licences every three months.

“His licence was last checked in July and within that time it has not been renewed.

“Therefore the police have said because his licence is not valid then it means the insurance is not valid.

“They are not saying the vehicle wasn’t insured, they’re saying it wasn’t insured for that driver.

“The driver has been suspended pending an investigation. We will wait to see what action the police take before taking any actions ourselves.

“I would like to apologise for any disruption caused to our passengers.”

Cllr Riley said: “We are very concerned because this may have implications for the safety of passengers. We will be launching an investigation in to this.”

Police said they seized four other vehicles as part of the operation run in conjunction with officers from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency. Other motorists were issued with fixed penalty notices for not wearing a seatbelt or for cars with defective tyres.

A police spokesman said: “At around 1pm on October 20 Officers stopped a bus in Bolton Road, Blackburn after it was found that the driver, a 66-year-old man from Darwen, did not have a licence for this type of vehicle or any insurance. The seizure was part of an enforcement operation carried out in the area by officers from the Road Policing Unit and Neighbourhood Policing Team.”