THE director of a Blackburn bus company which suddenly stopped running services last year told a public inquiry she quit after being unfairly targeted by vehicle inspectors.

Suzanne Bailey, who ran CatchMeBus.com Ltd until its collapse in November, told an inquiry at Blackburn town of her "battle" with government safety examiners.

The inquiry, called by the Traffic Commissioner for the North West, heard the company had been issued with several defect notices.

But Mrs Bailey claimed she had always tried to work with inspectors to find a solution to any problem and had been branded a "moaning Minnie".

She said: "It was a battle. I was still waiting for a complaint I'd made almost two years ago to be resolved. I'd had enough and I wasn't prepared to go on."

According to Mrs Bailey, drivers walked out on her company when they heard of her decision to give the Traffic Commissioner notice of her intention to quit.

That meant, she added, she could not go on and all services were stopped without the 56-day statutory notice being served.

She said: "I'd had enough. My head had gone so I said 'Right, that's it. The doors are shut.'"

Mrs Bailey, a former director with the company, was called to a public inquiry for consideration of regulatory action as a result of an unsatisfactory maintenance investigation, failure to operate registered services, an apparent failure to comply with undertakings and concerns in relation to repute, financial standing and professional competence. She faces a fine or a ban from running a bus company.

Inspectors who monitored CatchMeBus.com's services told the inquiry that on one occasion none of its services had complied with regulations and at a separate inspection 56 per cent did not satisfy.

The inquiry was adjourned until today.

(Proceeding)