Bus in collision with bridge

No passengers were on board the bus as it was out of service when the accident happened at around 10.30am on the A34 Walsall Road at Churchbridge.

The top of the Arriva bus was badly damaged in the collision and marks were left on the railway bridge.

Emma Stanley, spokeswoman for Staffordshire Police, said police officers went to the scene but the bus was able to be driven away from the bridge and there was little debris left on the road.

She said: "There were no passengers on board the bus at the time and the bridge was not structurally damaged. She added: "We were called at 10.30am and by 10.40am the bus had been moved already as it was drivable."

Keith Myatt, communications manager for Arriva, said he was aware of the accident at the railway bridge and confirmed no passengers were on board.

He said: "We can confirm an Arriva double decker bus has hit the railway bridge at Bridgtown this morning.

"The vehicle was being driven by an engineer without passengers when the incident happened. No one else was on the bus except the driver who was uninjured.

"There is slight damage to the roof of the bus and police were in attendance."

Mr Myatt added: "We will be working with them as part of any investigation."

Jason Craddick, aged 34, service manager at Cannock Renault near the bridge said staff at the dealership heard the bus collide with the bridge.

He said: "One of our technicians heard a bang and we all went over and you could see he had jumped on the brakes. It looks like he has just gone too far over. If you don't hit the bridge dead centre then you can hit the sides because it is so tight.

"There are always lorries hitting the bridge, at least once a day. The bridge has got a lot of battle scars its in a real mess."