Double decker bus gets wedged under bridge on school run

The school run in Ashby[1] was halted this morning when a double decker bus became stuck under a railway bridge.[2] The bus had been travelling along Station Road when it hit the bridge at around 8.30am.

Leicestershire Police officers were called to the scene, to find the bus wedged under a freight line. There were passengers on the bus at the time of the collision, said police, but they were all let off safely. Nobody was injured as a result of the incident, said the force.

Traffic built up behind the bus, and officers were forced to close the connecting Lower Packington Road to divert traffic away from the scene[3]. The bus, run by Roberts Travel Group, appeared to be mostly undamaged apart from a smashed upper-level windscreen.

The incident was a "surprising" sight for some residents on Thursday morning. One man, who did not want to be named, said such incidents used to happen frequently decades ago. "About 30 or 40 years ago, you’d get one of these a week and to be honest it wasn’t a shock. It’s been a long while since anything like this happened here. Quite a surprise to see it happen this morning," he said.

Officers closed the road while the incident was dealt with.

The driver was eventually able to slowly reverse from under the bridge and drive away. Meanwhile, the road reminded closed so the engineers could inspect the bridge.

Network Rail confirmed following an inspection that the bridge sustained "minor damage" but was safe for trains to pass over. No rail services were affected. The rail firm responds to an average of five bridge strikes across the country each day.

A spokesperson added: "We can’t stress enough how important it is that vehicle owners know the height and width of their vehicle and pay close attention to warning signs at bridges. If you’re not sure whether or not your vehicle will fit, you should look for an alternative route rather than taking a risk."

LeicestershireLive has asked Roberts Travel Group for more information. We are waiting to receive a comment from the company.

References

  1. ^ Ashby (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
  2. ^ a double decker bus became stuck under a railway bridge. (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
  3. ^ divert traffic away from the scene (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
  4. ^ Man jailed for crashing into car on wrong side of A47 then causing second head-on collision (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)