LET'S spare a thought for pensioner Ernest Fidoe today.

The 70-year-old coach driver is fighting fit. He's proved that by passing stringent medical tests to prove to the licensing authorities that he's more than up to the job.

It allows him to drive families and pensioners to the shops on a Saturday morning.

And it allows him to take children along the same route at the same time.

But put a school uniform on them and, come Monday mornings, Ernest finds himself in collision with Worcestershire County Council's rulebook. He's simply too old for education bosses to risk having him behind the wheel.

The rule was brought in several years ago, according to the county council, to address the concern of parents about the possibility of drivers have heart attacks.

No one should under-estimate that concern. After all, it isn't ard to imagine the consequences of a crash caused by the collapse of a driver.

But it's equally hard to ignore - or justify - the anomaly which has left Ernest working two days a week instead of five, and free to drive youngsters if it doesn't involve delivering them to or from school.

That's why we're reassured to report the ray of hope shining in his direction.

Though Ernest's pessimistic about the county changing its rules, network co-ordinator Peter Roberts has said he'll talk to colleagues about them.

The system must give the county discretion to make the judgement that, if a man like Ernest has passed the most stringent of tests, any parent will be satisfied too.

If not, he shouldn't be allowed to drive anything - and neither should anyone else over the age of 70. And who'd see the sense in that?