A DISABLED 84-year-old was left stranded at the seaside after the coach which took her on a day trip left for home without her.

Today the firm behind the outing said arthritis sufferer Ruth Holmes was one of six people it failed to collect and said they must have been waiting in the wrong place.

But the pensioner's daughter said they waited for two hours at the pick-up point -- and Help The Aged said tour operators needed to give elderly passengers more attention.

Pat Holmes, 52, and her mother Ruth, who suffers from arthritis in her feet, had to pay their share of a £40 taxi fare to take them the 30 miles home after police contacted the coach firm but were told the driver was almost back in Blackburn.

Pat and Ruth, of Ivinson Road, Darwen, were picked up from Darwen at 9.15am on Bank Holiday Monday by Blackburn firm, J & F Aspden Ltd.

The coach, dropped some people off in Blackpool before dropping 26 passengers in Cleveleys at about 11am.

The pair say they were told the coach would pick them up at 4.45pm and said after a day shopping and sightseeing they returned to the pick-up point five minutes early.

Pat said: "There was another group of people waiting when we arrived and they told us they had been there since 4.15pm.

"We waited for the coach but when it didn't arrive we went to the police station to see if they could find it. By this time we were starting to panic."

Pat said after nearly two hours waiting for the coach they decided to get another bus back into Blackpool and then a taxi back to Darwen, which they shared with a third person, finally arriving home at 7.30pm.

She said: "I rang the company but they said they could not do anything about it. I asked about a refund for the taxi fare and they say it is a matter for their head office. I think it is disgusting."

Ruth added: "I have arthritis in my feet and had to stand up for most of the two hours we waited for the coach."

Keith Williamson, office manager for Aspden's said: "The coach was due to pick up 26 people at Cleveleys and it picked up 20, therefore 20 people were in the right place, so who was in the wrong?

"This group was either in the wrong place or in the right place at the wrong time.

"Had we been informed within 10 to 15 minutes then we could have returned to pick them up, but by the time we were informed by the police it was 5.45pm and the driver was almost back in Blackburn and had nearly 40 passengers on board.

"The coach left at 4.50pm. We only wait five minutes, regardless of who the passenger is. That is standard procedure."

A spokesman for Age Concern, said: "All companies need to be aware of the needs of all their service users."