Bus Service Strikes Tree in New Church Road

Earlier today there was an incident in New Church Road whereby a bus struck a tree causing the road to become blocked and passengers, none of whom are believed to have been injured, to be evacuated from the vehicle.

It is understood from early reports that the service was service 17 which operates from West Bergholt to Stanway School, Winstree Rd, and was operating on a diversion because of roadworks in Lexden Road.  As the bus was travelling down New Church Road it struck a branch which subsequently broke and blocked the road. The bus driver evacuated all the pupils and ushered them towards Heathlands School and called the depot who sent another bus and recovered the original vehicle.

The key aspects of the incident are

• The road was closed but the Police were quickly on the scene and the County Council Highways department alerted.
• The bus was a double decker containing school children none of whom was injured.
• The bus was only using the route due to roadworks which caused Lexden Road to be closed.

A Parish Councillor was quickly on the scene and the Parish Council has made enquiries as to why New Church Road was deemed a suitable route for a diversion as it is 20mph, has many trees, passes a school and leads to a cramped junction at Chapel Road by the Co-op store.

The debris has now been cleared, the tree inspected and the road is now open to traffic.  The original works in Lexden Road have also been completed, meaning that there is no longer a need for vehicles to be diverted along New Church Road.