Bus crashes into bank sign

Roads were closed yesterday afternoon following the incident in St John’s Square, which left the vehicle dented and with a smashed window.

The bus had been carrying a group of schoolchildren to the venue and was turning to head back towards Church Street when it hit the side of the Yorkshire Bank.

It is understood the square, which is normally closed to traffic, was opened to buses at the request of the Winter Gardens for a schools event.

Police said nobody was hurt but the bus was damaged after hitting the side of the building at around 1.35pm.

It is understood the pupils had disembarked before the driver, a 44-year-old man, attempted to turn the bus around but became dazzled by the sun.

One witness, Neil Raine, said: “The bus had been turning in the square area when it collided with the sign on the bank. I was passing at the time when it happened.

“The top front of the bus, the front window and the supporting frame are all completely crushed. The sign that it collided with is in a better shape than the bus.”

Police cordoned off the area while the bus was removed from the scene. Roads reopened at around 2.30pm.

A police spokesman said: “The bus was damaged but nobody was injured.

The bus has a smashed window and has damaged the side of the building.”

A spokesman for Bank View Travel told The Gazette: “We can confirm it was one of our buses.”

It is thought the bus in question was due to pick up pupils from Garstang Community Academy later in the day – but none of the school’s pupils were involved in the incident.

A sign in the bus window showed the name of the school but principal Alistair Ashcroft said: “We did not have any of our pupils out at all yesterday.”

Police said the driver did not require medical treatment and the bus window was secured before the vehicle was driven back to the depot.