AN elderly member of the Royal British Legion saw red after a bus driver banned him from his vehicle for carrying a pot of paint.

Tom House, 71, boarded the number 125 bus on March 11 in Whetstone High Road after buying a container of emulsion from B&Q.

He was going home to Chaseville Park Road, Winchmore Hill -- but the driver was soon to take the gloss off his journey.

Mr House said: "My wife and I boarded the bus, but having allowed us to take our seats and safely deposit our shopping, the driver then asked what I was carrying and when he found out instructed me to leave the bus.

"He said the pot of paint was a safety risk but didn't specify why. I protested that it was securely sealed but he insisted we leave."

After eventually reaching his home Mr House wrote an angry letter to Arriva London North (formerly Leaside Buses) which runs the 125 service.

He said: "We all appreciate that safety is paramount, but highhandedness in this way is ridiculous.

"As someone trying to cope with the needs of our mostly ageing ex-service community, I'm concerned at the attitude of a modern generation who prefer to forget that some of us lived in a time that was poorer but had a lot of courtesy and consideration."

Mr House is chairman of the welfare committee of Southgate Royal British Legion.

Karen Gubbs, customer service manager at Arriva London North, said the driver had been following correct procedures following a recent incident on one of the company's buses.

She said: "Last month paint being carried by a passenger on a 144 bus in Wood Green spilled all over the floor.

"As a result we had to strip and relay the floor of the bus, and we also received claims for compensation from other passengers whose clothes had been splattered by the paint."

Mrs Gubbs said that under the driver's public service vehicle licence, it was the driver's responsibility to ensure that everything reasonable is done to prevent a safety risk at all times.

But she added that the incident would be investigated and the company would write back to Mr House as soon as possible.

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