A DRIVER who visited Swindon for work is fuming after his sat nav sent him down a bus lane - twice.

Julian ended up travelling along the restricted Penzance Drive route on two separate occasions earlier this month.

The left turn off Rodbourne Road after the pedestrian crossing for the McArthur Glen Designer Outlet's west entrance is restricted for bus use only.

Travelling along that short stretch to reach the car park entrance will lead to motorists receiving a £60 fine which is halved to £30 if paid within two weeks.

He said: “I travel all over the country with work and never have any issues but this year, I’ve visited central Swindon North twice and twice I've had bus lane tickets at Penzance Drive.

"I'm following my sat-nav each time and I never see any signs. What is going on?"

Julian is far from the first person to be caught out by the bus lane next to the Designer Outlet.

A Swindon Borough Council spokesman said: “There are more than a dozen signs in place on the approaches to the bus gate as well as highly visible road markings in the area which should act as a further deterrent to motorists.

“All the warning signs exceed the appropriate regulations for visibility and frequency.”

This is far from the first driver to be caught out by that particular bus lane, despite more than a dozen signs on the approaches to the bus gate and the red-painted road surface with 'bus lane' written on it in big white letters.

In September, Peter Welland vowed to never return to Swindon for shopping trips after receiving a penalty notice which pictured the courtesy car he was driving on the bus lane next to the outlet's west car park.

He called it "an honest mistake" and felt he should have received a warning rather than a fine.

In August, Gareth Lewis made a similar vow after visiting Swindon for the first time to drop off his son, claiming that the outlet signs were more noticeable than the bus lane signs.

The council previously said of the bus lane: "It is there to help improve bus journey times to and from West Swindon, it is not there to trap motorists.

"Any money received through the bus gate fines is spent on highways and transport-related projects."

The Adver revealed last year that the bus lane had generated £2.5 million for Swindon Borough Council in five years, with thousands of people in the town and further afield inadvertently using it.

The correct ways to reach the outlet's west car park are to approach Penzance Drive from the other end by turning left off Wootton Bassett Road near Fish Brothers Toyota, or to join it from Paddington Drive near the Bridgemead Sainsbury's.