BUS passenger Andrew Robinson couldn't wait to get back to Bolton after his day out in Rochdale ... so he commandeered a single decker vehicle while its driver was on a break.

Robinson, a warehouse worker, took the wheel and set off on the 20-mile journey home to Breightmet after losing patience at Rochdale Bus Station.

Police tracked him down in Belmont - where he was found trying to fix a windscreen wiper.

At Rochdale magistrates yesterday, Robinson, 20, of Moffat Close, Breightmet, admitted taking a bus without consent, driving while disqualified and without insurance.

And his solicitor Mr Mike Salt, told the bench it was hard to fathom why Robinson had indulged in such a serious escapade.

Magistrates, who heard that Robinson had previously been banned for 12 months and given a community service order by the Bench at Bolton for taking a vehicle without consent, decided to order pre-sentence reports with all options including imprisonment to be taken into consideration.

He will re-appear at the Rochdale court for sentencing on January 15. He was granted bail.

Miss Nikki Docker, prosecuting, said a bus inspector at Rochdale Bus Station was informed by one of his drivers that the bus he was allocated to drive last Saturday afternoon had disappeared from the station.

The matter was reported to the police and a Lancashire police officer on patrol in Belmont saw the bus down a narrow country lane known as Valentine's that same day. Robinson was in front of the vehicle attending to a windscreen wiper. When asked about the vehicle, Robinson said it was from Bury Bus Station. He was taken to Blackburn Police Station and later transferred to Rochdale, where he admitted he had decided to take the bus and that he was disqualified.

Mr Salt told magistrates Robinson had been a travelling passenger on the bus from Bolton to Rochdale. He decided to drive it back in the opposite direction but would not give any clear explanation why.