A MAN has been banned from using Chorley's new bus station for assaulting passengers and being a nuisance.

Lancashire County Council has issued the banning order -- the first they have used on a bus station -- to stop the man using the facility.

A spokesman for Lancashire County Council said: "It is the first time we have used such powers on a bus station. But we have used these special powers in the past on properties owned by Lancashire County Council."

The authority refused to name the man or comment further for legal reasons.

The bus interchange, opened on Sunday, March 23, cost £2.5million and was designed to integrate bus, taxi, cycle and rail travel.

The new building was a joint project between Lancashire County Council and Chorley Borough Council, and replaces the former Union Street facility.

The banning order was authorised by the deputy leader of the county council, Councillor Doreen Pollitt.

Roger Handscombe, head of property services at Chorley Council, said: "We will run the bus station in a way that makes people feel comfortable and willing to use it.

"We won't accept that sort of nuisance. Both authorities have banned this person from the bus station."

Under the rules of the order, the man cannot enter or use the interchange, or he may face police action, and a possible injunction imposed by a civil court.