School buses found in poor state

All of the nuts were loose on one of the bus wheels

Central Scotland Police have warned that children were put at risk after they discovered 22 faulty school buses during a week-long crackdown.

Officers carried out checks on buses arriving at schools and taking pupils to Blair Drummond Safari Park.

Nine of the vehicles were in such bad shape that they were immediately pulled from the roads.

On one of the buses, all the nuts on one wheel were loose and half of them could be removed easily by hand.

Head of the force's road policing unit, Ch Insp Donald McMillan, said: "This bus would not have made the journey back to where it came from in the Inverclyde area.

"The consequences do not bear thinking about."

Other faults detected in the vehicles included braking problems, a fuel leak, and an emergency door that was locked from the outside and could not be opened.

Ch Insp McMillan said: "We do this every year and every year we are astounded at the poor condition some of the buses are in.

"It is not acceptable for operators to use buses which are in a poor condition.

"They have a duty and responsibility to ensure that their passengers travel in safety."