A MUM breastfeeding her baby says she was thrown off a bus by a driver who told her she wasn't allowed to do it in public.

Holly Chapman, who lives in Penhill, got on the number 17 service, operated by Swindon’s Bus Company, to meet her sister in the Olive Tree Cafe at Manor Garden Centre.

She was with her two daughters, Gracie, three, and Raiya, 18 weeks. The baby was hungry so she started feeding her.

“My little girl was crying because she needed to eat, so I got her out of the pushchair to feed her, and then the driver told me not to," the 28-year-old said.

"I told him she needed to eat and continued to feed her, but he told me to get off.

“I didn’t know what to do, a woman was tutting, but I don’t know if that was at me or him. I felt so choked up, I tried to brush what happened off, but it impacted me a lot more than I thought.”

The maternity care assistant, a volunteer breastfeeding support worker at Great Western Hospital, said she was stunned by what had happened.

“I didn’t realise how much it had affected me until I noticed I was asking people’s permission to feed her in public. This has never happened to me before and now I feel as if I can’t connect with Raiya in the same way because I’m too worried about what other people are thinking.

“I’ve had random comments made from people before. They’ve said ‘it’s disgusting’ and things like that, but I’ve never been thrown off a bus.

“People need to be educated and made aware that it’s perfectly normal and legal," she told the Adver. “I have postnatal depression, I had it with Gracie and now with Raiya, and this has really impacted that. I feel more anxious now.I'm getting the support I need, but with what happened on the bus, it hasn’t helped.”

She now wants bus drivers to be educated about breastfeeding.

The firm's general manager Alex Chutter promised to investigate.“I am very sorry to learn of this customer’s experience.

“Our drivers are highly trained in customer service, and I would like to reassure those who travel with us that incidents like this are extremely rare and completely unacceptable. We would never condone this type of behaviour from any of our drivers, and I would like to address it with the individual concerned. To do this, I have requested further information - including a date and time of the incident - so that I can investigate further.

“In the meantime, I would like to sincerely apologise to Ms Chapman for the experience she has endured.”