Grandma and girl kicked off bus for having...a pot of paint

June Bamber, 61, bought the tin of grey emulsion to decorate her bedroom, on a shopping trip in Preston with granddaughter Amelia Latus.

But soon after they boarded a Number 44 Preston Bus to get home to Ingol, the driver braked and ordered them off.

June said: “I couldn’t believe it, but he said if we didn’t get off, he’d call the police. My granddaughter was heartbroken, it was very frightening for her.”

Now the bus company has admitted the driver made a mistake, and said it will apologise to Mrs Bamber.

The retired civil servant said she had paid for tickets home to Brighton Crescent,Ingol, on the number 44 service, when the driver suddenly braked and began shouting.

She said: “The driver’s attitude stank and he must have been able to see I was carrying the paint when I got on, so why allow me to pay for tickets?”

The pair were given a credit note and scraped together £8 in change for a taxi home. Mrs Bamber complained to the company immediately.

She said: “I spoke to a lady who said it was company policy. I said my granddaughter was shivering, but she said it wasn’t their problem.”

After being contacted by the Post, Preston Bus admitted the situation should not have occurred and asked Mrs Bamber to contact them so a formal apology can be made.

A spokesman said: “Our driver was mistaken. Paint can be taken on our buses, so long as it is unopened and properly sealed, in its original container, and so long as the container capacity is five litres or less. We have reiterated the paint rule to our drivers.”

Mrs Bamber said: “I’m glad they’ve apologised and admitted fault, what happened was wrong from start to finish.

“At the end of the day, if the driver has done something wrong, then he should be reprimanded for that.

“I hope lessons are learned and it never happens to anyone else.”