Too fat to drive: 12 stone woman refused job as bus driver for 'being overweight'

But when she applied for a post, she was turned down straight away - for having a spare tyre.

The bus company told Mrs Parker, who is 4ft 11in and 12st, that her Body Mass Index, a calculation of weight and height - was too high for them to employ her. She would have to lose weight if she wanted a job.

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The 53-year-old had applied for the job with Translink, in Belfast, as she is planning to move to Northern Ireland with her husband Raymond, 58.

Mrs Parker, of Gloucester, has been a popular driver during her 20 years on the school run in Cirencester.

She has even won commendations from the Department of Transport.

But Translink accepts recruits only with a BMI of 33 or under - Mrs Parker's was calculated at 34.1.

According to the World Health Organisation, a BMI of 18.5 to 25 is normal, 25-29 is overweight and more than 29 is obese.

"Any woman sitting on a bus or in an office all day is bound to put on a bit of weight round her waist or belly - we always laugh it off as a spare tyre,' said Mrs Parker.

"But it shouldn't matter what size you are, unless the DVLA or your doctor says any different.

"They're the people who have the right to tell you in confidence that you ought to lose a little bit of weight. No one else should do that.

"On the application it asked what height and weight I was, so I told them - I didn't think it was going to stop me getting a job.

"When I got the letter me and Raymond burst out laughing - but the more I thought about it, I became really angry.

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"I know bus drivers much bigger than me.

"I eat three healthy meals a day, and have a couple of biscuits as well. I also go for walks with my husband and grandchildren and exercise by doing housework, like vacuuming.

"My weight is not going to do me any harm."

The bus company wrote to tell her that if she lost weight within six months, she could still be considered.

But Mrs Parker, who has threatened the sue the company for discrimination-added: "I realise when you are working with the public your looks come into it.

"But discriminating without even meeting me is unacceptable."

A Translink spokesman defended the decision, saying that Mrs Parker did not reach an acceptable medical standard for driving because of her weight.

He said: "As employers we have a responsibility in terms of our health and safety obligations to ensure our bus drivers reach an acceptable medical standard.

"Therefore, at recruitment, we ensure all candidates are medically fit and healthy.

"The BMI ratio is just one of the tools we use to assess this.

"It is at the recruitment stage we have the opportunity to reject an application if the upper BMI limit is greater than 33 based on advice from specialists.

"Once in employment, we have various initiatives in place including a rolling programme of health promotion checks, in order to encourage staff to maintain a healthy lifestyle."