A BUS company, which operated school services in Herefordshire, exposed passengers to a "degree of danger" on a number of occasions, an inquiry found.

George Youngs Coaches, based in Ross-on-Wye, has had its licence revoked after the inquiry found failings with its fleet of 19 vehicles including issues with seatbelts, an oil leak and a luggage compartment door that wouldn't close properly.

Transport manager at the firm, Gwendoline Young had "no idea of the importance of the 'guide to maintaining roadworthiness' or even of what it was".

She was not able to attend a previous public inquiry in September 2018 due to ill health, but it was found she had "failed to keep abreast with modern-day best practice and had let standards slip, most notably in driver defect reporting and condition of vehicles".

The latest inquiry, held in Birmingham on November 6, found that a vehicle which had clearly been operated during a period when the vehicle file recorded it as being off the road.

There was a gap of 21 weeks between safety inspections, Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) examiner Nathan Harwood said.

The report, published by Traffic Commissioner Nicholas Denton, said Gloucestershire County Council had found two vehicles with rear emergency buzzers which were not working.

This means the driver would not have been able to tell if a passenger had opened the emergency door, and implied an effective walk-round check had not been carried out.

The public service vehicle licence was revoked with effect from December 23, and directors Kevin Young and Gwendoline Young were disqualified from holding any type of operator's licence for three years.

They were both disqualified from acting as transport managers indefinitely.

George Youngs Coaches director Kevin Young was asked for comment, but was not available.

In his absence, a spokesperson said the decision would be appealed but did not add any further comment.

The firm had nine contracts in Herefordshire, six for school services and three for public use.

Passengers included pupils from John Kyrle High School, Gorsley Goffs and Bridstow primary schools.

A Herefordshire Council spokesperson said: "We were notified of the company's loss of licence by the Traffic Commissioner and immediately ended these contracts.

"Alternative suppliers have now been sourced."