A man of 80 is driving children to and from school

Staffordshire County Council has defended its policy after it was revealed that an 80-year-old regularly drives school buses in Uttoxeter.

Other companies employ drivers in their 70s, and some parents say they are concerned at the situation.

But council spokesman Richard Caddy says all older drivers are tested before the bus companies take them on.

Annual medicals

Bus driver Ron Ayre, who is 75 and runs Robin Hood coaches in Rudyard in the Staffordshire Moorlands, says he would have no concerns about employing an older driver.

He told BBC Radio Stoke: "They have medicals every 12 months and providing they pass them, there's no problem.

"I think the main thing is that they enjoy what they are doing."

The DVLA in Swansea says there is no upper age limit for driving a bus, but drivers over 65 have to make a self-declaration of any health problems, and if they are ill between times they have to let the authorities know.