A BUS driver who sent passengers scrambling for their lives when he crashed a double-decker bus into a railway bridge has escaped disqualification.

Geoffrey Grubb, 57, from Prospect Place, Canterbury, pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention when he appeared before magistrates at Sittingbourne. He was given eight points on his driving licence and fined £350, plus £35 in costs.

In January Mr Grubb was driving a number 165 bus on the Sittingbourne to Sheppey service. His passengers many school children.

The court heard he had been trying to take a short-cut along Mill Way. He forgot he was driving a double-decker bus and attempted to take the short-cut under the bridge over Mill Way, rather than drive back down St Michael's Road to negotiate the taller bridge in Crown Quay Lane.

He missed signs indicating the low bridge and when he hit it, the top of the bus was stripped off.

At the time a police spokesman said passengers on the top deck only avoided serious injury because someone houted "Duck" just before the impact.

In sentencing him, the magistrate said: "We are giving you credit for the fact that you have had a clean licence for a long period of time.

"It was an unusual lapse in concentration but as you were operating a public service we must take this very seriously."

Mr Grubb admitted guilt at the first possible opportunity and in court said: "I am very sorry and extremely remorseful that it ever happened."

His lawyer, Nancy Udom, had pleaded with the magistrates to be lenient. She said: "Mr Grubb has been punished by his employers and this incident has affected his life.

"He lost his job as a driver and although his employer Stagecoach has re-employed him as a service monitor, his wage has been reduced."