THE parents of a five-year-old boy who cut his head in the town's bus station are furious that he was refused help and told that first aid assistance was for staff members only.

Little Dean Roberts, of Clegge Street, Orford, was with his mum and brothers and sisters on Monday when he caught his head on a barrier at the station. Mum Tamara asked staff on duty if a first aider could help her son, who was badly bleeding from his injury.

But she claims she was told that appointed first aiders could only administer treatment to staff members, not the general public.

She was then told that because it was a Bank Holiday, none of the four first aiders were at work anyway.

She said: "I couldn't believe it, here was my little boy crying and bleeding and they told me that their first aiders could only help staff. Then to find out that the station had no one on duty anyway left me speechless."

Tamara then says she asked if she could use something from the station's first aid box to help her son, but when it was opened it was almost empty. She had to use an arm sling to mop up her son's blood.

And to add insult to injury, she claims no assistance was offered and that she was forced to walk to the hospital with her son for treatment for a puncture wound to his head.

A spokesman for Warrington Borough Transport said: "We are sorry to learn of this incident and glad to hear Dean is making a good recovery.

"In the event of injuries to passengers our policy is to summon immediate help via ambulance, which is in line with advice given by the national Coach and Bus First Aid Association.

"As a back up, a number of our staff are first aid trained and will always administer assistance where they can, unfortunately, bus operators are unable to provide comprehensive first aid back up and on this occasion no first aider was available at the bus station either from the company or among the borough bouncil's bus station security and supervisory staff."