Lincolnshire school bus crashes with 60 pupils on board

Police said the bus appeared to have hit a soft verge before falling against a hedgerow at the roadside

A school bus carrying 60 pupils has crashed on a country road.

Children from two local schools were on board the double decker when it left Meadow Lane near North Hykeham, Lincolnshire, at about 08:28 GMT.

There were no serious injuries but a 12-year-old boy suffered a broken arm and a 14-year-old girl was taken to hospital as a precaution.

Lincolnshire Police said the bus had now been recovered and the road reopened at about 12:20 GMT.

In a tweet, the force said: "Thank you to everyone for your patience while we dealt with the incident and thankfully there were no serious injuries reported."

Officers had earlier urged parents to avoid the scene and to gather at St Christopher's School in Lincoln.

It is understood the bus was taking students to two secondary schools, Sir Robert Pattinson Academy and North Kesteven Academy, both in North Hykeham.

The windscreen and other windows appeared to have smashed in the crash

One pupil who was on the bus said it had tipped, sending everyone on one side suddenly "flying on top of the people on the other side".

"It was very scary," she said.

"We didn't know where to go, nothing was stopping us - I fell on someone else".

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In a statement, a spokesman for the Sir Robert Pattinson Academy said: "Members of the school's senior team - including the headteacher - rushed to the scene as soon as we were notified of the accident and helped with the efforts by the emergency services to support the children involved.

"Thankfully there were no serious injuries, though one pupil suffered a broken arm."

Meadow Lane reopened at 12:19 GMT, police said

Ch Insp Phil Vickers told BBC Radio Lincolnshire the cause of the crash was yet to be established but it was understood the vehicle had "gone on to a soft verge and slid against a hedgerow".

When the vehicle was towed away one side of the windscreen was damaged and other windows also appeared to have smashed in the crash.

A spokesperson for Stagecoach East Midlands, which operates the service, said: "Our immediate thoughts are with the children involved and their families.

"We are giving the police our full support in helping to investigate and establish the circumstances of the incident."

A spokesman for the East Midlands Ambulance Service said they received a call at 08:28 GMT and confirmed two patients had been taken to Lincoln County Hospital by ambulance.