James Mercer, who was born with cerebral palsy, was one of a group of 30 passengers asked to leave First's No 598 service after it was involved in a minor collision with a car at the Walmesley St/Darlington Street junction.

The 12-year-old second year Deanery High pupil from Ince – who was on his way home from school – can walk with the aid of a splint but uses a wheelchair for any distance.

Fortunately, on this occasion, he was able to call on his grandfather, Alan Mercer, who lives at the top of Darlington Street, for help to get home to Greenfield Avenue, Ince.

His shocked mum, June, says the bus company seemed to have no contingency arrangements in the event of a service having to stop short of its destination.

But a spokesman for First – which has its depot at Melverley Street on Wigan Pier – has insisted that they acted properly and that staff quickly attended the scene to help passengers who may have found themselves stranded. Mrs Mercer said: "The bus company should have had somebody there to check how the children were going to get home.

"There were a few pensioners on the bus and they were also stranded.
"But James said that the only thing that happened was there was a jolt when the crash happened and the next thing was that the bus driver was ordering everybody to get off, which left him a bit upset.

"Thankfully, James has used his brains and knocked on his grandad's door, and he was fortunate that this time he was in and could see him home."

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