Blackpool bus driver praised for his kindness to young passengers

Paul Dawson, 43, of Penrith Avenue Cleveleys, decided to start giving young passengers with their parents special notes to thank them for their good behaviour on his buses after an ecstatic reaction to one from his four-year-old nephew, David.

Now one of the parents of a child who received a "well done" note from Paul has praised him for his kindness.

Sophie Millar, 23, from Bispham, was on board the number 9 bus between Bispham and the Blackpool town centre when Mr Dawson gave her six-year-old son Tyler a handwritten note.

She said: "When I got off the bus the driver handed me a handwritten ticket for Tyler, telling him he had been a star and well done for his good behaviour.

"Tyler was so proud and couldn't stop smiling.

"Little things like this can bring so much happiness, it's such a great thing for someone to do."

Paul wrote a note from Father Christmas to his nephew David one weekend, thanking him for being well-behaved at his Uncle and Aunty's house.

David was so excited that Father Christmas was watching him, that Paul decided to extend his "well done" notes to his passengers.

He said: "I've been a bus driver for 25 years and I just thought it'd be a nice thing to do.

"Some people might think of bus drivers as a bit grumpy, or tell their children that we'll tell them off if they don't behave.

"As a driver I'm part of the community, and kindness costs nothing."

Tyler took his note into his school, St. John's C of E primary school on Church Street, Blackpool, to show his teachers and friends.

His headteacher was so impressed, he was allowed to take the class bear home for the weekend.

The school also helped him to make a "VIP Award" for Paul, for Tyler to take to Blackpool Transport's offices to give to him.

Mr Dawson also dressed up as Father Christmas to drive the number 6 bus, and said he was surprised by the reactions from pupils at St. George's school in South Shore.

He said: "When all the teenagers got on I was expecting a load of jokes to be honest, but every single one of them were absolutely fantastic.

"It was great to see so many smiling faces."

Shane Grindey, marketing and commercial manager at Blackpool Transport said: "Paul has only been with us at Blackpool Transport for 3 months but our customers are loving his friendly attitude to his daily work.

"A number of customers have told us about their positive experience with Paul when they’ve been on his bus.

"It’s lovely that Paul along with a number of our other bus drivers are getting in the festive spirit and making our customers smile, and it epitomises our company wide approach to delivering an excellent standard of service”.