A PASSENGER said a bus driver ordered his vehicle to be cleared after a lady spilt some coffee in a case of “health and safety gone mad”.

Robert Readman from Bournemouth was trying to board the Wilts and Dorset M2 service near Iceland in Westbourne.

He said the young lady in front of him spilt around one third of a cup of coffee on the left hand site of the passenger entrance.

Mr Readman, 71, a travel agent, said: “The bus driver told everyone ‘we can’t go, it’s too dangerous’. There were about 10 people on board.

“He shut the doors, pulled the bus to the kerb and ordered everybody off and phoned to somebody at the depot to come and clean it.

“The ridiculous thing was the amount spilt was far less water than you would get when people are getting on and off in the rain.

“I just thought it was health and safety gone mad. I’ve seen worse spills from Coke cans rolling around the floor by the seats.”

The incident happened around 12.30pm on Tuesday, February 28.

A Wilts and Dorset spokesman said: “We will carry out an internal enquiry regarding the incident.

“We would like to apologise to the inconvenienced passengers should it be found that the driver had over reacted to any perceived health and safety threat.”