Passengers travelling on a bus to Newcastle were left stranded by the iconic Angel of the North after their driver quit midway through his shift.
On a Go North East service from Durham to Newcastle, the driver of the 21 bus pulled up at the landmark’s stop and appeared to resign on the spot, with passengers left inside.
The driver locked the doors after departing the double-decker bus on Wednesday night, (16 August) leaving passengers confused and panicked, Chronicle Live reported.
One passenger said people onboard were left to figure out how to exit the bus after realising that the driver was not returning.
After pressing a random combination of the bus’s buttons, passengers were able to get off the bus and wait for the next one to pass through.
The Angel of the North, a sculpture designed by Antony Gormley, is about a 15-minute drive from Newcastle city centre, where the passengers had originally hoped to end up.
Someone on the bus journey wrote on social media: “Go North East, your bus driver on this bus tonight has just left the bus at the Angel and stormed off. Locking the bus with people on it.”
He added that the driver said “you can stuff your job” as he left the bus.
Go North East’s Business Director, Ben Maxfield, said: “‘Unfortunately, we are aware that during this incident our driver left his bus unattended with passengers on board.
“We clearly can’t condone the actions of this driver and I will ensure that the issue is investigated and dealt with according to our internal procedures. We can only apologise to any customers who were inconvenienced by this event.”