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A gay couple told of their anger after they were thrown off a London bus by a driver who gave them a volley of homophobic abuse for kissing.

Jack James, 23, and his partner were on a number 89 bus near Blackheath when the driver ordered them off following an anti-gay rant, they claim.

Transport for London today said it had launched an investigation into the complaint.

They are expected to study any on board CCTV footage from the bus as part of the inquiry but have already identified the driver.

Mr James, an events coordinator who lives in Greenwich said: “We were chatting away when my partner gave me a peck on the lips.

“The bus driver shouted ‘Oi you two don’t do that on my f****** bus or you can get off, I don’t want to watch that.”

He said that initially they thought the driver could not be speaking to them.

He added: “When the bus stopped at our stop I walked up to the driver and politely asked the driver if he was talking to us.

“His reply was ‘Yes, it’s my bus it is my rules and I don’t want to watch that, it’s disgusting, get off the bus’.

“Once we got off the bus we were fuming and I was shaking. The bus stopped again and he shouted and told us we were not real men and we should f*** off.”

The alleged incident happened at around 10.30pm on 8 August and Mr James was on his way home from work.

In a separate incident a lesbian couple were threatened with expulsion from a Sainsbury’s store in Brighton by a security guard for kissing. The threat triggered a protest at the store this week an apology from the supermarket chain.

Mr James added: “This type of homophobic bullying cannot be tolerated. I am considering making a complaint to the police about this.”

Ken Davidson, TfL’s Head of Bus Operations, said: “All customers have the right to use our services without fear of being abused and offensive behaviour is completely unacceptable. We would like to reassure Mr James that this matter is being taken very seriously and that a thorough investigation is being conducted by Go Ahead.”

It is understood that the bus driver is on leave and the matter will be raised when he returns to work.