This footage shows cleaners targeting seats on a London red bus - revealing just how much dirt passengers take home.

Cleaner Steve James, 55, started posting cleaning videos from "high traffic areas" on his Instagram in 2020 - including a viral video on a London tube."

The lighthearted content was intended to promote his carpet cleaning business, Mr Carpet Clean, which he has been running for seven years.

Now, the Hertfordshire dad-of-five has taken on his next mission, tackling the seats on a London red bus.

Steve, along with cleaning teammate Lamarl Hubbard, managed to gain access to the stationary single-storey bus at 2am on Saturday (December 7) in a "covert mission."

The pair got to work and cleaned around 20 seats in just half an hour, revealing a bucket of filthy water as a result.

Steve said: "Our target is public seating areas such as trains, buses, theatres, cinemas, hospitals etc. "

"All these areas have been neglected post-Covid which we wanted to highlight. The general public are taking all this dirt home, including potentially harmful bacteria. "

"We always knew there would be a high level of dirt, grime, and harmful elements in the seats. It was just a case of finding out how much! "

"We always knew it was going to be dirty. I think the bus was on par with the tube. It is alarming."

After posting the video to his social media pages, Steve says the feedback from the public has been amazing- even if they are disgusted by the findings.



He added: "The reaction has been very good. It is way more than I bargained for. "

"These companies need to be accountable for trying to keep everything a lot cleaner. The general public are paying for it. "

"The public deserve a clean environment."

In terms of the future, Steve says they have many more exciting cleans planned but that they are "top secret" for now."

Rosie Trew, TfL's Head of Bus Service Delivery said: "We are committed to working together with bus operators to provide a clean environment for staff and customers. "

"All buses are cleaned every night before entering service. "

"We take every report seriously and ensure our operators always take appropriate action, including taking buses out of service for inspection, deep cleans and treatment with specialist equipment if necessary."