A BUS driver has been cleared of indecently assaulting a girl he knew from a school run.

Charles McKenna, 61, was accused of supplying the girl with cigarettes. The alleged indecent touching and kissing was said to have taken place at one handover, in his people carrier in a car park.

At Durham Crown Court yesterday, he denied supplying the girl with cigarettes and said there were no meetings to pass them on, as the prosecution alleged.

He told the court he tried to maintain a “pally” driver-passenger relationship with the children, without becoming over familiar.

But he described the girl as “a pain in the a**e” on school runs, saying she was disruptive and would pester him for cigarettes.

Mr McKenna, a non-smoker, said that at one stage he even asked to be taken off the route due to the behaviour of the girl and a friend.

He said he believed the girl made the allegation because he refused to give her cigarettes.

Ian West, defending, pointed to inconsistencies in the prosecution case as it was established Mr McKenna was not driving on the route at the time the alleged incident happened.

The girl said she may have been mistaken pinpointing the date because she had a poor memory.

Mr McKenna, 61, of North Terrace, Willington, County Durham, denied sexual assault.

The jury returned a unanimous not guilty verdict.