BUS passengers are being reassured about their safety, after an employee raised concerns about “dangerous” tyres.

An expert in bus safety for First buses spoke out after two tyres blew out on a vehicle as it travelled along the A12, near Marks Tey, on Wednesday.

The employee, who does not want to be named, was concerned some of the tyres were not good enough and said the tread wear could be responsible for the incident.

However, First Bus has strongly refuted any suggestions of sub-standard tyres and disputed the police report which claimed two rear tyres were blown out.

A spokesman blamed something sharp in the road for the puncture, and denied any safety problems with the buses.

The whistleblower claimed: “We are having problems with some of our tyres not being up to scratch and with tread wear.

“This is not good enough. You can have one blow-out, but not two. This is something I take very seriously.”

First run bus routes throughout Colchester and Clacton, as well as Chelmsford and Basildon.

The company spokesman said: “In accordance with normal practice, all our vehicles are routinely serviced every 14 to 28 days, and they are further checked by our drivers before they leave the depot each day.

“Safety is the number one priority for First and we replace our tyres when the tread is at 3mm rather than the legal minimum of 1mm for buses.”

The bus was towed away by a recovery vehicle after the incident on Wednesday, on the northbound carriageway of the A12.