A schoolgirl said she was reduced to tears after a bus driver confiscated her oyster card when it failed to register.

Alice Coyle, 13, boarded a 281 bus in Teddington to St Richard Reynolds School in Twickenham on Monday morning, but said her faulty oyster card was confiscated by the driver after it failed to beep.

The schoolgirl said she was told she would have to buy a weekly travelcard later, but was allowed onto the bus to get to school.

Alice, who is entitled to free travel because of her age, said she told the driver she had no money to get home from school, but he allegedly responded 'that is not my problem'.

Her mother, Ronda, said: "She was worried he had left her stranded for the journey home, so I had to go and collect her from school.

"She was in her school uniform and obviously just trying to get to school, so there was no need for that reaction.

"She is quite a feisty girl but she did burst into tears when she got to school. She didn’t want to cry in front of the bus driver."

Ms Coyle reported the incident to Transport for London (TfL) and was told the driver should have issued Alice with an unpaid fare report.

Ken Davidson, head of bus operations at TfL, said: "Bus drivers are provided with comprehensive training in order to allow them to perform their duties to the highest standard and from the account given I’m sorry to hear that these procedures were not followed in this instance.

"London United, the company which operates the 281 bus route, has been made aware of this incident and will be investigating the circumstances."

Ms Coyle said she will drive her daughter to school until a replacement oyster card arrives.