THE bus company, that sacked a driver for getting trapped on train tracks, has defended its decision.

First buses dismissed Marcus Lamm, 21, of Jaywick, after he ran the gauntlet at Manningtree level crossing.

The incident was caught on CCTV and Lamm was fined and handed 9 points on his licence, as well as losing his job.

A First spokesman said: "Immediate action was taken following the incident in July resulting in the dismissal of Driver Lamm.

"Driver Lamm was operating an empty bus running back to the depot at the time of the incident, so no passengers were on board.

"Safety is a high priority for First and incidents of this nature are taken extremely seriously."

The spokesman said the company had co-operated with police since the arrest.