Fall widow refused help

The driver also warned other people against helping Alzheimer's disease sufferer Florence Jones, of Telford, in case they too fell foul of the health and safety rulebook.

The Stourbridge-based travel company, Group Travel, today defended their driver's actions and said they did as much as they could to help.

But Mrs Jones's horrified daughter Jennifer branded the company's policy as "madness".

Mrs Jones, her daughter and a friend had just arrived at Princess Diana's ancestral home at Althorp, Northamptonshire, on a Group Travel coach.

Jennifer Jones, who is her mother's full-time carer and lives with her in Aston Close, Apley Park, Wellington, said the pensioner was just stepping off the coach when she missed the bottom step and fell to the ground.

Running

Miss Jones, 45, said: "My friend came running back, along with staff from Althorp. They were lovely.

"The driver then came over and asked what the matter was. I asked where he'd been and he just said 'I can't touch her, love. It's against health and safety. Take it up with the manager when you get back'."

Mrs Jones was not injured and was helped up by her daughter and their friend.

The driver advised staff at the stately home not to help, claimed Miss Jones.

She said: "Please, let's get some sense back into the country, or has it gone too far already? It's health and safety madness."

Managing director of Group Travel, Nick Bennett, said drivers had to comply with health and safety laws which prevented them from helping someone in case a civil suit was brought against the firm, which he said had an "excellent reputation".

He said: "We follow every guideline that we can within our industry and we would like to do nothing more than help people down the steps.

"It's not our fault she's 87 and we did not know she had Alzheimer's. The driver asked how the mother was."

Mr Bennett added he had written to Mrs Jones after the fall.

By Jason Lavan