Coach driver drags woman
The scene in Nottingham when a coach driver tried to drag a woman off his vehicle. Saul Morgan/Facebook screenshot

KEY POINTS

  • The woman could be heard shouting "let me go".
  • The driver was suspended by National Express after the incident was reported.

Footage filmed by an angry bystander appears to show a National Express driver attempting to physically remove a "visibly distraught" woman off his coach, after she had not printed off an e-ticket for the journey.

Saul Morgan filmed the encounter, which took place in Station Street, Nottingham on Wednesday morning (14 February). The French woman was trying to board the 310 coach to Poole, for which she had an e-ticket but not a printout, when the coach driver tried to forcibly eject her and argued with other members of the public who came to her defence. The woman, who can be heard shrieking and saying "let me go" in the footage, was eventually let on.

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Posting the video on Facebook, where it has been viewed more than 1,000 times, Morgan wrote: "This is going on right now at station street national express. French lady with an eticket being refused as she hasn't printed it out. Can someone with a twitter tweet this. 3 of us had to intervene to stop it. She was visibly distraught."

Morgan sent the footage to both National Express and Nottinghamshire Police. Just one hour and 10 minutes after posting the video online, he said that the company had called him to say they were stopping the coach at the next available stop to remove the driver.

Morgan also posted a screenshot of the type of e-ticket involved, which clearly states: "Show this e-Ticket to your driver on either your smartphone or tablet. You can also print a copy."

A National Express spokesman told the Nottingham Post: "We apologise for the actions of our driver, which clearly fell far below the professional standards expected of all our staff.

"The driver involved has been removed from service and suspended pending an urgent investigation. We have spoken to and apologised to the customer involved."

Facebook users were horrified by the footage. One said: "This man should be ashamed of himself!! Absolutely disgusting!" Another said: "What a horrific experience for her. If she is a tourist, what a great impression of the country he has given her!!!"

A third commenter said: "Electronic ticket which needs a piece of paper. Crazy!!"

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