Mr Haynes has been a bus driver for 30 years

Luke Tanhai, 13, died of head injuries in September 2003 after possibly falling under the wheels of the bus.

Colin Haynes, 59, of Gabalfa, Cardiff, denies causing death by dangerous driving.

Cardiff Crown Court heard Mr Haynes only found out Luke had clung to the outside of his bus 50 yards after he fell off. The trial continues.

Luke died near Cardiff High School in the Lakeside area of the city.

The court has heard that he and two friends had apparently jumped onto a rail outside the bus as it moved away from the school.

His friends jumped clear but Luke either fell off or jumped.

Mr Haynes told the court: "I had no indication whatsoever that there was someone hanging on to the outside of the bus.

I had no indication there were any children hanging on. The doors were shut Colin Haynes

"I heard someone saying: 'He's fallen off'. By this time I was still in motion.

"I said: 'Who's fallen off?' I was thinking to myself: 'What's happened now?'

"I had no indication there were any children hanging on. The doors were shut."

Mr Haynes said he "wouldn't even have moved the vehicle," if he knew Luke was hanging on the outside.

'No angels'

He told the jury he had delayed moving the bus from outside the school after Luke and two friends tried to climb onto the bus through an emergency exit.

Luke had been excluded from school on the day that he died

He said Cardiff High School pupils were "no angels" but no worse than at any other school.

Mr Haynes, a bus driver for 30 years, is a designated school bus driver said: "Over the years I must have done many thousands of school journeys.

"I enjoy the work and have always thought of myself as a friendly person who gets on with the children."