A First Bus driver has been suspended after accusations of making racist remarks about a passenger having a "bomb" in his bag.
The incident happened on the 23 service towards Heartsease on Monday afternoon when one of a group of four off-the-clock drivers expressed anti-Muslim sentiments from the back seats of the upper deck.
Jay Durrant, who witnessed it, said: "Just before the Tesco stop by Heartsease roundabout a passenger's phone rang.
"The ringtone was Arabic music and came from a young lad's phone, about 19 years old.
"It took him a while to get his phone and the driver behind me slurred 'make sure he doesn't leave his backpack'.
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"A couple of seconds later he said 'it might blow up'."
According to Jay, the drivers then pretended to look under the seats while laughing after the young man had gotten off.
"I was in such a state of shock and anger, it just blew my mind," he said.
"The driver said 'I'm not racist if it's true' and they laughed all the way to their final stop."
Piers Marlow, managing director of First Bus East of England, said: "We are aware of the alleged incident that took place on the 23 service.
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"I can confirm that the member of staff in question has been suspended pending an urgent investigation.
"At First Bus, we do not tolerate discrimination of any kind, whether that involves an employee or a customer seeking to use our services."
The incident comes just months after a First driver was caught on video engaging in a sex act next to his bus in a rural area of Sprowston.
The driver and the woman involved in that incident in March were given police cautions, with the bus company confirming in late April that the driver no longer worked for them.
Of the alleged racism incident, Jay added: "I am absolutely appalled by this behaviour and I find it disgusting comments like that are still used in today's society.
"I do not expect public service men and women to act in the way they acted that day."
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