Claims passengers were left sat on a bus without a driver for almost an hour have sparked an investigation.

Bus company First Bradford has started an internal inquiry after the driver of the 617 Bradford to Holme Wood bus pulled up, turned off the engine and left without a word.

Emma Hodgson, who lives in Australia and was visiting her family in Bradford, had joined the bus in Sunbridge Road just before 4.30pm.

She had only been on the bus a few minutes when the driver pulled over in Nelson Street, Bradford, at a stop being used during building work at Bradford Interchange.

Mrs Hodgson said she presumed, like the other passengers, that a replacement driver would arrive but they ended up waiting for 50 minutes.

"I was sitting in that bus for nearly an hour in the blazing hot sun, and in the end I pressed the emergency door release button to get off and catch another bus," she said.

"There were children on the bus who were crying with the heat - people get in trouble for keeping animals in hot cars but what about people?"

Mrs Hodgson, 67, said she had taken the driver's number and would be making a formal complaint.

First Bradford today confirmed there was a problem with a scheduled 4.30pm driver changeover for the service.

"Due to operational difficulties that changeover did not happen," said First Bradford marketing officer Brandon Jones.

"It's a very regrettable incident and we apologise to those customers concerned who were left on.

"We have launched an investigation and appropriate action will be taken."

Leaving passengers before a replacement driver arrived was not standard procedure, he added, and the company was also looking into why that happened.

But Mr Jones disputed the length of time passengers were left on board, and said his reports suggested it was for about 35 minutes.

"We had a duty inspector trying to resolve the problem almost straight away but unfortunately it took longer than we anticipated," he said.

"By the time a driver had gone to the bus the passengers had boarded another vehicle."

Mr Jones said the firm would discuss the matter in more detail with anyone making a formal complaint.

Mrs Hodgson, who is staying with relatives in Thornbury, Bradford, before she returns to her Queensland home, welcomed the bus company's apology and explanation.

But she added: "I thought there must have been a problem but even so somebody should have come and said something instead of leaving us sat there in the hot sun."

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