A ST IVES bus operator has been told he can no longer run local services after a third public inquiry by the Traffic Commissioner.

Nicholas Colin Eastwood, of Victory Heights, had the condition placed on his three remaining licences after a monitoring exercise found serious failings in the timetable for Royal Buses.

Mr Eastwood took over the fleet of six vehicles, formerly Victory Buses, from his father Nicholas Andrew Eastwood, but had his six licences revoked within a year.

The company runs services around from Royal Square to the leisure centre and transports holidaymakers to and from holiday parks around the town.

A catalogue of blunders cost him the public service licences last March after a previous public inquiry revealed a "wholly inadequate" system for passenger safety.

Blunders

He admitted at the inquiry in the Porthminster Hotel to being "overwhelmed" when he took over but vowed never to appear before the commissioner again and won back three licences in June.

At the inquiry last month, Mr Eastwood had been hoping to win back the remaining three licences.

But a bus monitoring exercise carried out in August and September showed he had 'failed without reasonable excuse' to run to the timetable.

The report revealed that out of the 106 monitored journeys, 70 of the journeys described by the timetable were seen.

A bus compliance officer found that 36 journeys had failed to operate, observed two were early and 31 were late.

Mr Eastwood blamed the non -compliance with timetables on a dispute over queue jumping with a rival bus company.

He said the row had prompted him to leave buses waiting longer than the set time in order to keep the peace.

"I have got to go for a fourth inquiry and hope to get the restriction lifted," he added.