A new mum who lives in Richmond said she is “afraid to use the bus” after the doors closed on the buggy with her daughter inside.

Sara Feldmann-Brummer’s daughter, Rachel, will be six weeks old this week.

With her daughter in tow, Sara said she attempted to get the 391 bus to Manor Circus, at about 4.40pm on May 16.

Sara said: “I was in Richmond town come and wanted to get the bus home.

“Some other people were getting off and after that I tried to get on and the doors closed on the buggy.

“I screamed and the driver opened them again but they closed again almost immediately.”

Sara said it took other passengers to get the attention of the driver and open the doors but, shaken-up by the incident, she decided to walk home.

“I shouted at him through the doors,” she said.

“He said, ‘You should have told me’, but it’s very difficult to tell the driver every time you’re getting on the bus; I don’t know if that is company policy.

“The drivers don’t always seem to look when closing the doors, which concerns me the most -I’m not suggesting they do it deliberately.”

Sara pointed out it’s not just parents with buggies the drivers should be aware of, and suggested they have training to make them more aware of potential dangers.

“If there was an elderly person or someone with a wheelchair… these are situations where they need to know who is on the bus,” Sara said.

She added: “This thing with the buses has really upset me because I’m a new mum and I want to go out and enjoy the weather, but I’m afraid to use the bus now."

The same thing has happened to Sara before, just recently, on a different bus route in Richmond.

“The first time was over the Bank Holiday weekend, we got on near our house at the start of the bus route.

“Five minutes later we arrived in Richmond; the best way to get off the bus with a buggy is backwards, we had two wheels on the on the pavement and two were on the bus when the doors closed.”

She and her husband, George, took down the details and it is being investigated by the bus company.

Claire Mann, Director of Bus Operations at TfL said: “We were extremely sorry to hear of this incident, which clearly would have been very distressing for the child’s mother.

“The safety of our passengers is our top priority and we expect the highest standard of driving from London bus drivers.

“We are now investigating the incident with London United, which operates the 391 bus route on our behalf.”

TfL said anyone affected by an incident on their transport network can contact The Sarah Hope Line for help and support on: 0343 222 5678 or SHL@tfl.gov.uk