Family stages Kendal bus station protest (From The Westmorland Gazette)

Family stages Kendal bus station protest

11:59am Tuesday 3rd August 2010 in News

A NATIONAL Express coach destined for London was delayed for an hour in Kendal Bus Station when a family staged a sit-in protest.

Dina Barbier and her seven children, aged from two to 18, sat in the luggage compartment of the coach in the Blackhall Road depot after the driver refused to let them on the vehicle.

It is understood the driver would not let the family, from Kingston on Thames, on the coach due to their behaviour on the trip down to Kendal a few days before.

Police began negotiating with the family and during the incident a 17-year-old girl was arrested on suspicion of breaching the peace. Another girl, in her late teens, was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police officer.

Both were released from police custody that day, with one reported for summons on an assault charge.

A National Express coach spokesperson said: "The police were called for assistance to help our driver after the decision was made some passengers weren't able to travel due to inappropriate behaviour.

“The National Express support centre as a result arranged for onward travel for the family by other means."