Driver told girl a dirty pound coin was counterfeit

Nicole Oldfield, aged 19, was told to get off the number 30 First bus from Sothall to the city centre as she tried to travel to work.

The bus driver said her 1 coin was a counterfeit.

Today her angry parents insisted the coin - which had been given to Nicole by her mother - is perfectly legitimate, and are demanding an apology from bus chiefs.

Nicole wanted to travel from her home on Bedgebury Close, Sothall, to the city centre.

But, as she boarded the bus, the driver looked at her coin suspiciously, refused to accept it, and ordered her off. A tearful Nicole returned home where her parents rang the bus company to complain.

Her angry mum Yasmin said: “The coin has got a bit of dirt on it but that is about it. It is an ordinary 1 coin. I am really angry. How can they accuse a young girl like this? It is absolutely outrageous.

“They ask people to use public transport and then they treat people like this.”

Bus firm First’s deputy managing director Brandon Jones confirmed the company had received a call from Nicole's mum.

“The journey details have been taken and we'll be speaking to the driver to investigate the incident,” he said.

“Although counterfeit pound coins are not common we do expect our drivers to remain aware, and therefore give them the right to question monies they believe are fake.

“However, there is certainly no excuse for rudeness as I'd expect our drivers to handle such situations with the appropriate care.

“I'm sorry if Nicole felt she was treated badly and we'll certainly be looking at that as part of our investigation.”

South Yorkshire Police said they knew of no batches of counterfeit 1 coins currently doing the rounds in the county.