A BUS driver was attacked and had racist abuse hurled at him when he tried to eject two passengers from his bus.

Haroon Bulla was driving his 582 bus from Leigh to Bolton, when at one stop, he picked up several passengers including two men.

"They asked for two tickets and gave me £5. The ticket machine was slow and one of them tried to pull the ticket out. I said 'take it easy mate it could be jammed'," said 30 years-old Mr Bulla, who has been driving buses for four and a half years.

One of the men then started swearing at him and shouting racist abuse.

Mr Bulla said: "He was very aggressive towards me and I ordered him and the other man off my bus. He said he wanted his money back and I asked for the ticket back. He threw the ticket out of the window."

After an argument, and as Mr Bulla tried to close the bus doors, the man grabbed his hand and pulled him through a gap in the ticket machine. He then threw coins at him and then the pair ran off.

"I hurt my elbow and shoulder. The police came and I went to hospital. The route is my regular one and I enjoy talking to regular passengers. I hope they catch these people," said Mr Bulla, who lives in the Daubhill area and is the father of an eight month old baby girl.

A spokesman for his employers First Bus, said: "We can confirm that this incident did happen and the company is now co-operating fully with Great Manchester Police in their investigation."