A BUS driver who got behind the wheel following a drinking session was breathalysed at the roadside after being shopped to police by a worried passenger.

David Thompson, 55, drank "a lot of alcohol" the night before his bus was stopped in Accrington town centre, as he tried to come to terms with the deaths of his mother and two work colleagues.

Police today confirmed that officers breathalysed him after stopping him in Bridge Street, close to the bus station, at 5.20pm on Monday. He was was almost three times the drink drive limit, with an alcohol reading of 91 in his breath compared to a legal maximum of 35.

Today his employers, Burnley and Pendle Travel Limited, said Thompson was facing disciplinary action.

Thompson, of Princess Street, Colne, admitted the drink driving offence at Hyndburn Magistrates yesterday.

Lisa Worsley, prosecuting, told the court that Thompson was arrested after information was given to police by a bus passenger who suspected he may have been drinking and driving.

He had been driving his Volvo single-deck bus at the time and was breathalysed at the roadside.

He failed this test and a subsequent one at the police station although the alcohol level had dropped at that point, she said.

Graham Parkinson, defending, told magistrates that Thompson, accepted he was some considerable amount over the drink driving limit having had a lot of alcohol to drink the previous evening.

He added that the reason for the drinking was due to the enormous amount of stress Thompson had suffered after the recent death of his mother and two close work colleagues.

He said: "He had clearly drank too much and had not been eating sufficiently as well as being very tired.

"He was under stress because of the deaths that occurred and had alcohol in quantities he should not have."

Thompson has been disqualified from driving pending magistrates' decision on his sentence.

But Mr Parkinson said he had not yet been dismissed from his position.

The case was adjourned for the preparation of reports and Thompson will appear before Hyndburn Magistrates on March 27.

George Scrymgeour, regional director of Burnley and Pendle Transport, said: "Mr Thompson will be interviewed shortly and we will make a decision regarding his position within the company once that process has been completed.

"He has not driven one of our buses since the incident came to light, although he is still formally employed by the company."