TWENTY-THREE children had to be rescued after their school bus driver went through two road closed signs and one stretch of floodwater before getting his vehicle stuck in a river that had burst its banks, a court heard.

Graham Stanley Jones, 43, was taking 23 children to Easingwold secondary school early on January 5 during the aftermath of the Christmas floods, York Crown Court was told.

The prosecution claimed the second stretch of floodwater on Tollerton Lane north of York was between knee and waist high and that because of the road layout an approaching driver could not tell how deep it was or how far it extended.

The jury heard that when Jones drove into it at about 8.15am, the water pushed the bus into a ditch and everyone on board had to be rescued by firefighters.

"Someone who drives in that way, risking the safety of their passengers and themselves is driving dangerously," said Graham O'Sullivan, prosecuting.

Earlier in the witness box, Jones claimed: "It wasn't dangerous, I didn't intend, I didn't put the children's lives in danger, so I didn't classify it as dangerous." He also claimed: "It was a genuine mistake."

He claimed the water was only "kneecap" deep and had appeared to be the same as the earlier floodwater he had driven through. He also denied that he had seen the first sign warning the road was closed because it had been lying on the ground and claimed he thought the second sign referred to Ella Bridge being closed, which was off his intended route.

Jones, of Linton Woods Lane, Linton-on-Ouse, denies dangerous driving. He accepts that his driving was careless.

The jury will consider its verdict tomorrow.

Summing up, the Recorder of York, Judge Paul Batty QC said they had to consider the standard of driving, not Jones' intent.

In agreed facts, the jurors heard that Tollerton Lane had been closed for flooding since December 14.

Traffic constable David Taylor alleged when he and a colleague repeated the bus' journey at 11.30am on January 5 in a police Discovery 4x4, they had to put its suspension at its highest setting to get through the first stretch of floodwater in which their passage created a bow wave.

They stopped before the second because they decided it would be unsafe to go further. He claimed the water was the River Kyle, a tributary of the River Ouse, over its banks.

Jones said he was driving a 158 school service for Stephensons of Easingwold, and claimed Tollerton Lane was his usual route out of Newton-on-Ouse. He had lived in Linton-on-Ouse since 2004 and knew the road and the area well. He also knew it was prone to flooding.

Jonathan Hill, operations manager for Stephensons, alleged company policy was that drivers did not go into water more than two inches deep.

Jones claimed he had never seen the policy, but was aware that the company routed buses round flooded roads.

The case continues.