Nine injured as school buses skid off icy roads in separate incidents as fury grows at councils’ lack of grit
A number of school buses have come off the ice-ridden roads amid Storm Goretti resulting in several injuries.
Listen to this article
Nine school children were injured following a crash between a bus and a coach on a slip road in Reading on Wednesday morning.
Two people were taken to hospital and a number of children on the school coach suffered minor injuries, along with the coach's driver.
Eight adults on a bus operated by Reading Buses were also injured in the incident on the A3290 slip road onto the Sutton Seeds Roundabout.
The coach's operator said icy road conditions ould have been a factor in the incident and an investigation was under way.
South Central Ambulance Service said two people were taken to the Royal Berkshire Hospital for further treatment. The other 16, that included adults and children, were discharged at the scene.
In Kent, a schoolbus left the road in Ashford, shortly after 8am. Fortunately, no one was injured.
Officers and paramedics helped the passengers off the bus after the incident on the A28.
Fire crews, who sent three fire engines to the scene, said the incident at Chilmington Green was believed to be caused by the vehicle "slipping on black ice".
Shocking pictures from the scene show the bus stuck in a verge on the side of the road.
A Kent Police spokesperson said: "Officers attended and remain on scene to assist while passengers leave the bus and the vehicle is recovered.
"Paramedics attended as a precaution. There were no reported injuries."
Elsewhere in Northern Ireland, another group of school children had a lucky escape after their double-decker skidded off the road in Derrytrasna, County Armagh.
The incident happened on an extremely icy Bannfoot Road this morning where temperatures dropped to a freezing -6C in the early hours.
Read more: US forces seize rogue ‘shadow fleet’ oil tanker in dramatic raid after pursuit across Atlantic
Taking his frustration to social media, Councillor Declan Mcalinden said: "When are the Department for Infrastructure (DFI) going to start taking the residents of our rural communities seriously.
"Double decker School bus skids into the verge on the Bannfoot Rd, Derrytrasna and could easily have toppled over as well as a car over the hedge."
Pictures from the scene show the double-decker in a ditch and a car that has skidded off the road and into a field.