Autistic Tyldesley boy says he no longer wants to live after bus driver laughed at him


  • Liam Dilley was travelling with mother Liz Dixon after evening out together
  • 11-year-old asked bus driver at Leigh bus station where their bus would go
  • Said to have responded by saying ‘the bus stop’ and called him an abusive term
  •  Ms Dixon has now made a formal complaint to First who are investigating 

Euan McLelland For MailOnline

1

View
comments

Liam Dilley (pictured, with mother Liz Dixon) said he no longer wants to be alive after claiming a bus driver laughed at him and called him a ‘mong’

An autistic schoolboy has said he no longer wants to be alive after claiming a bus driver laughed at and verbally abused him when he asked for directions.

Liz Dixon, 36, was on her way home with son Liam Dilley when the 11-year-old asked a driver at Leigh bus station, Greater Manchester, where their bus would pull up.

The mother-of-one claims the driver was instantly dismissive of her son, but it was only as the pair walked away Liam told her the man had become abusive when he struggled to word his question, using the grossly offensive term ‘mong’.

Ms Dixon, who was also with her two nieces, was so angry she went back over to the First Bus employee to confront him.

She claims he admitted to what he had said but just laughed about it.

Since the incident, the concerned mother says Liam has been saying he feels there is ‘something wrong’ – and doesn’t even want to live any more.

Ms Dixon, from Tyldesley, Greater Manchester, said: ‘I don’t agree with the word at all anyway. It is not a nice word. It is very unfortunate he has used that word at all but especially towards someone who has autism like my son.

‘I was so angry, I couldn’t believe a grown man would speak to a child like that.

‘The driver didn’t know he was with me. It was a little boy asking for help at 10pm at night – he should have been much more helpful.

‘The idea that he could have been on his own and then been stuck somewhere is awful, all because this man wouldn’t give him directions.

‘He has cried about it since and it has affected him. He now feels really insecure about it and I don’t like that.’

Ms Dixon had taken Liam and his two cousins, aged 11 and seven, to the cinema and for dinner but she was unsure where the bus pulled up at the station so told Liam to ask a nearby driver while she waited with the girls.

She recalled: ‘The driver was waiting for passengers and wasn’t that far away. I could see him saying excuse me and the driver was reluctant to even acknowledge him. He just didn’t want to help.

‘Eventually I went over and asked myself, and he responded very rudely. But as we walked away Liam seemed upset so I asked him what happened.

Liam (left) was on his way home with mother Liz (right) after an evening out when he asked a driver where their bus would pull up. Ms Dixon reported the incident to First, where she says staff were stunned by her claims and promised to investigate it immediately

‘Liam said that when he asked the man where the bus stops and the driver had laughed and replied “the bus stop”. He must have become muddled up after that and then the man laughed at him and called him a mong.

‘I wasn’t having that. I went back over and I didn’t swear at him at all but I wanted to ask him to his face if he had called my son a mong. I said to him:’ “Go on, be honest”.

‘He just laughed at me and said “yeah, I did”. I asked him what gave him the right to say that to anyone, let alone a child. But he didn’t seem to care. He was very rude.’

Ms Dixon reported the incident to First, where she says staff were stunned by her claims and promised to investigate it immediately.

She said: ‘First have said they are reviewing CCTV to find which driver did it. I have had lots of messages of support from people and even other bus drivers have expressed their shock at hearing what he said.

The alleged incident is said to have taken place at Leigh bus station (pictured), Greater Manchester, on Saturday night

‘I want an apology to my son as it’s just not right.

‘I want more training for bus drivers and other people in services that might encounter people with autism.

‘When Liam goes out I want to think that people in the community would help him out not leave him or mock him.’

Hardik Modha, First Manchester’s Operations Manager at Bolton, said: ‘This kind of language is completely unacceptable to me and the First Manchester team.

‘I have spoken with Ms Dixon and expressed my serious concern over this incident as well as explaining that we launched an immediate investigation as soon as we were made aware of the incident.

‘We work very hard on creating an accessible and welcoming environment for our customers. Incidents such as this reflect badly on our staff who deliver great service every day.’

Comments (1)

Share what you think

The comments below have been moderated in advance.

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

Find out now