An Islington hail-and-ride bus service has launched an investigation over claims a driver crashed into a parked car and then drove off with a young family still inside.

The single mum and her three-year-old were “scared and shaken up” after their bus driver allegedly crashed into a parked car – only to drive off and deny it happened.

Melissa, who refused to give her surname, and her son boarded the 812 at 10.22am on July 11. Twenty minutes later she claims the driver reversed into a parked car outside the Peel Centre, in Northampton Road, Clerkenwell.

HCT Group, a transport provider subcontracted by Islington Council to manage the service, opened an investigation after Melissa made a complaint.

“It was a scary experience. We were scared and shaken up by what happened,” said Melissa, who added: “I was hurt and got bruising to my arm.”

She claims the driver got out to check the damage before driving off without leaving his details.

“At the time I was too scared to say anything,” said Melissa. “But when we got off the bus I phoned the company straight away and they informed me the driver had not reported it.”

Melissa, who also has a six-year-old son, said: “I haven’t been sleeping properly and I’m concerned to get on the bus now. The company have not apologised and they need to pay out for the lady’s car.”

A spokesperson for the HCT Group said: “We take the safety of our passengers and other road users very seriously. Consequently, as soon as the matter was brought to our attention, we commenced an internal investigation.

“In circumstances where we have no third party witnesses or CCTV footage to establish the facts of the matter, the process is slightly harder – in this case we have commissioned an engineering report to establish whether our vehicle had been in a collision, as this was not obvious from plain sight. This takes time and the investigation is still ongoing. We aim to conclude this as soon as possible, taking any actions as appropriate in line with our processes.”