Driver 'on his first day' rips roof off double decker school bus by smashing into railway bridge despite pupils' warning shouts as three children are rushed to hospital with serious injuries and 13 others need treatment

• Three children were rushed to a nearby hospital with serious injuries following the crash in Winchester
• Another 13 pupils, aged between 11 and 16, were treated at the scene after the bus' roof was torn off at 8am 
• All of the pupils were heading towards Henry Beaumont School, which described the crash as a 'sad incident' 
• Locals say the 72 pupils on board were shouting at the 'novice driver,' telling him he was on the wrong route 
• Stagecoach South says it has launched an internal investigation into the bizarre crash, which injured 16 pupils

 

A driver on 'his first day,' ripped the roof off a double-decker school bus by smashing into a railway bridge - despite pupils' warning shouts, in a crash that has left three children in hospital with serious injuries and 13 more needing treatment.

Around 70 pupils were on board the Stagecoach bus, heading towards Henry Beaufort School, in Winchester, when its roof collided with a bridge just after 8am.

A total of 13 children were treated at the scene of the crash in Wellhouse Lane, according to Hampshire Police, while three more were rushed to hospital with serious, but non life-threatening, injuries

A local businessman based along the road said he had heard the driver was 'very new to the job' and 72 pupils were on board at the time.

Pupils on the school bus say they were 'shaken,' following the crash and reportedly shouted at the 'novice' driver, warning him he was not taking the right route.

The man, who didn't want to be named, said: 'The bridge is fairly low. What people at the scene were saying is that this bus driver was a complete novice.

Teenagers on board were left 'shaken' and 'shocked' after witnessing the aftermath of the crash on their way to school in Winchester today

The double-decker bus' roof was ripped off as it passed underneath a bridge in Winchester while carrying up 72 secondary school pupils 
 

'I actually think it was his first day - that is what everyone down here is saying. There were a lot of people gathered around and it seems to be he was very new to the job.

'The children were apparently telling the driver it wasn't their usual route and kept shouting at him telling him the bridge was too low and he wouldn't be able to get through.

'They were there saying, 'go back, go back'.

'I know that some of the children were injured and taken, and I believe about half a dozen or so more were injured in some form or another.' 

One parent told media they also thought the bus driver was new to the route.  

 

Robert, a 15-year-old Year 11 student, was on the bottom deck at the front of the bus by the stairs and said fellow pupils suffered head and neck injuries while those seriously hurt were laid out on the road afterwards receiving treatment.

Police remain at the scene following this morning's crashs. Locals claim the Stagecoach driver was a 'novice,' saying he may have taken the wrong route

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