A bus inspector who claimed he had to resign because he was scared of violent passengers has lost his claim for compensation.

Clifford Jones told an employment tribunal his bosses at the Brighton and Hove Bus and Coach Company failed to take action to protect him from abusive and violent passengers.

Mr Jones, 54, from Hove, told the Brighton hearing he suffered a stress-related illness and became too ill to work following a number of incidents.

Mr Jones said he accepted part of his job as a customer liaison officer was to deal with confrontations but the company did not do enough to support him.

The tribunal said his bosses had investigated his concerns and planned improvements.

Mr Jones said: "I had a fear of dealing with situations which might turn violent. I felt I was unsupported and my loyalty and safety was undervalued. I love the bus industry and did not want to leave it."

He said he was starting a new job as a bus driver with another company on Monday. But, when he resigned, he could not face working with the public.

In November 1999, he was hit in the face by a passenger and suffered an injury to his jaw. In January, violence broke out when a member of the public attempted to eject another passenger who was abusive to Mr Jones.

There was a violent struggle and Mr Jones felt threatened by the passenger, who he believed was armed with a knife.

Mr Jones said he was screaming into the radio for help but there was no response because of problems with the system.

There were other minor disturbances and he described Friday and Saturday nights as a nightmare.

The final straw came in February when the company took no action after he accused a driver of swearing at him in front of passengers when Mr Jones advised the driver he was not wearing his uniform shirt.

He was also disappointed when he failed to get promotion.

Mr Jones claimed he pestered his bosses to improve safety at work.

He claimed the company ignored his concerns and, after remaining off work sick from February, he resigned in May.

The company denied treating him unfairly. It claimed Mr Jones would have been offered a less stressful job at the depot if he had not resigned.

Operations manager Paul Williams said: "We are constantly reviewing our health and safety policies. We want to do the best by our staff."

Mr Jones' claim for constructive dismissal was dismissed. In giving its decision, the tribunal said: "We have a certain sympathy with Mr Jones and his colleagues dealing with passengers who are violent, abusive and antisocial.

"The reason for his resignation is fully understandable."