The company responsible for leaving an asthmatic 12-year-old boy with learning difficulties locked in a bus with no food and water for seven hours has blamed the boy himself for the incident.

The passenger assistant responsible for ensuring children arrive at school safely said the terrifying ordeal was Ashley Coe’s own fault, claiming he sneaked back onto the bus while she talked to teachers.

Ashley’s grandmother and sole carer, Margaret Jones, of Oakland Road, Leytonstone, has branded Prime Cars and Contracts’ stance “disgusting”, saying they have not even apologised for the distress caused to the little boy.

The company, based in Hoe Street, Walthamstow, left Ashley asleep on the bus after successfully dropping other children off at William Morris school in Folley Lane, Walthamstow.

He was then left locked in the bus, which was parked in Wellesley Road, Walthamstow, for seven hours while the driver went to visit a friend. He soon began to panic.

Ashley was finally released by police when a passerby noticed the desperate boy banging on the bus window and begging to be freed.

A letter containing the driving assistants’ attempt to pass the buck was sent to Ms Jones following an investigation by the council, which has apologised for the distress caused.

She said: “I think it is appalling, they left him on the bus and now they’re blaming him for it. Ashley was really upset. I think he should get some kind of compensation because it was distressing.”

Since the ordeal she said Ashley has been waking up frightened after suffering from nightmares.

“When the police brought him home, he was hungry and frightened, he thought he was going to be left there,” Ms Jones continued. “Anything could’ve happened to him. He has asthma too, what if he’d had an attack?”

Prime Cars work for CT Plus, the company contracted by the council to deliver children to school.

The company is no longer responsible for taking Ashley to school but Ms Jones says she has contacted the company several times for an explanation but nobody would speak to her.

However after the incident on November 7, a driver from the company did deliver a hamper of olives, cocktail cherries, coffee, out-of- date sweets and a £20 Argos voucher, which she sent back in disgust.

She added: “I felt it was an insult, there was not even an apology.”

The council’s cabinet member for children, Cllr Chris Robbins has said he was “appalled” at the incident.

Prime Cars have refused to comment.