A bus driver arrested in Melksham after reports he was swigging from a can of extra strong lager has been sacked by employers Faresaver.

Police received reports from a passer-by that the male driver of the 2.40pm X34 Faresaver bus from Frome to Chippenham was swigging from a can of extra strong lager in Frome last Thursday and urinating against the side of the vehicle.

Wiltshire police were alerted by Avon and Somerset Constabulary and officers were waiting at Market Place in Melksham with a relief driver and a supervisor from the bus company at 3.45pm.

The driver, 55, from Trowbridge, was breathalysed and arrested after being found to have 42mg/100ml of alcohol on his breath, above the 35mg/100ml legal limit. He was bailed pending further inquiries.

The replacement driver took over the bus and continued on to Chippenham.

General manager Justin Pickford said: “There is an ongoing police investigation and an internal investigation, but suffice to say the driver is no longer working for us. He was suspended from the moment he was taken off the bus and his employment was terminated.

“We co-operated with the police when we knew there was possibly a problem and one of our supervisors was on hand with the police in Melksham.

“It is a very unfortunate state of events, and the safety of our passengers is of the most importance, and we are working fully with the police on this occasion to put the situation right.”

Passengers waiting for the X34 service in Trowbridge this week were shocked at the news.

Ian Stone, 54, from Trowbridge, said: “It should be seriously looked into.”

Pensioner Margaret Ludlow, from Bradford on Avon, said “I thought they were pretty good, I take them every day from Trowbridge to Bradford on Avon and back again.”