A YOUNG mother has told how she watched in horror as her two-year-old daughter toppled down the stairs of a double-decker bus.

The incident happened after Sarah Marshall, 25, of Simons Close, Chineham, hopped on to the number nine bus outside her mother's house in Popley Way.

As she organised herself, her daughter Bethany started climbing the stairs.

Mrs Marshall said: "I was still putting her chair in the rack. My five-year old son had already gone ahead up the stairs, and Bethany was following him.

"She turned around and asked if I was coming when suddenly the driver drove off and she fell straight down from five steps up. She split her lip open and her whole top was full of blood."

When the bus pulled over, Mrs Marshall got Bethany off and saw that her teeth had gone through her lower lip. She complained to the bus driver but was upset by his attitude.

Mrs Marshall said: "He did not care or show any concern. He just said that I should not have let her go upstairs, then he drove off.

"I am unhappy because he did not give me time to even put the chair away before he started moving."

Stagecoach operations manager Nigel Deacon initially told The Gazette that no formal complaint regarding the incident had been made and said he knew nothing about any accident.

After being told this, Mrs Marshall said she was surprised because she had rung up twice to complain and to see what action Stagecoach was taking in regard to the driver.

When he was contacted again, Mr Deacon said he had now been made aware of the incident but could not start an investigation until the driver returned from holiday.