TILES fitted at the new bus station are so slippery they will have to be overlaid with rubber or be specially treated before Monday's opening.

The flooring at the £10m new interchange is considered potentially dangerous if the public is allowed on to it.

The station has been paid for by the borough council and built by Kier Construction to accompany the redevelopment of Golden Square shopping centre.

After the tiles have been treated in the short term, they will then need to be replaced one-by-one in the long term.

Bob Williams, head of communications at the borough council, said: "The architect managing the contract on our behalf has not yet handed over the bus interchange to the council.

"However, we can confirm that all parties involved in the building programme are currently investigating concerns the council has raised, regarding the slip resistance of the concourse flooring.

"Having raised our concerns with the architect, a solution is currently being sought and until such time it would be inappropriate for us to comment any further.

"We have also been advised that despite this situation the interchange is still on schedule to open on Monday."

A spokesman for Kier North West said: "As with initial construction we will follow instructions given to us regarding any adjustments in design by the architect."

The modern new station features a host of new facilities including real time passenger information.

Bus services will gradually move to it from the temporary station before an official launch in a few weeks' time.