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Disabled woman 'verbally abused' by Arriva bus driver who narrowly missed hitting her at Chatham bus station

A disabled woman says she was almost knocked over by a bus while crossing the road - and then sworn at by the driver.

Members of the public saw the incident at Chatham bus station on Wednesday morning and helped Shanjida Akter to confront the driver, who she says then verbally abused her.

The bus driver is alleged to have cut behind the woman before swearing at her.
The bus driver is alleged to have cut behind the woman before swearing at her.

She had been heading to the Pentagon Shopping Centre at around 9am when, due to her mobility issues, she was walking slowly on the crossing when an Arriva bus cut in behind her.

She said: "I was walking in the middle of the crossing and he saw me going and didn't stop.

"I have mobility problems, I took two steps and he passed behind me, it was so close.

"There were people screaming 'Whoa, whoa! That was so close!'"

Shanjida, of Portsmouth Close, Strood, says she was left shaken and the incident made her worried for her heart issues.

The incident happened at Chatham Bus Station
The incident happened at Chatham Bus Station

Witnesses helped Shanjinda, who also has autism, and they helped track down and confront the bus driver when he had parked up at the bus station.

The 38-year-old said: "A woman came and helped me and said it was going to complain.

"The passengers were like, 'What you did was wrong, why were you in a rush?'

"He said, 'Are you blind, are you dumb?'. He called me a ******* *****.

"He will get a punishment, the public took photos of him when he was behaving this way.

"The police said they want the footage of the bus and they were going to take it further.

"The bus driver manager called me and he said what he did wasn't right and said it was under investigation."

Police spokesman James Walker said: "Kent Police was called to a disturbance in Globe Lane, Chatham, at 9.02am on Wednesday, February 26.

"A verbal dispute is reported to have taken place between a woman and a bus driver and enquiries to establish the full circumstances are ongoing."

A spokesman for Arriva confirmed the company had received a complaint and was carrying out an internal investigation into the allegation.

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