Summary
Two passengers had a lucky escape when the bus shelter they were waiting in was wrecked in a crash. Saturday morning’s incident outside the Exmouth Arms in Bath Road, Cheltenham , happened just days after a previous shelter at the spot was replaced because it had been seriously damaged in an almost identical bus crash.
Details
And people living and working in the area say there was a third crash involving a bus earlier this year, which also caused extensive damage to the shelter. Pulhams, the company whose vehicle hit the shelter on Saturday, said it is liaising with Gloucestershire County Council about re-positioning the bus stop.
One person, who was in the pub at the time, said in an online post: “The noise when the glass shattered was unreal! There were two ladies waiting to board the bus when it happened but, thankfully, they were unhurt. “The Exmouth staff were very helpful and took care of them until emergency services arrived to check them over.
A lady from the Co-op also came over and spent time looking after them.” A spokesperson for the Exmouth Arms said: “The police, fire service and ambulance service all attended, as well as the gas company as there was a gas pipe there.
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The new bus shelter had been up for less than a week, for about three or four days.” She estimated that about 10 people were on the bus at the time of the incident and said a small number of disabled passengers left it via its emergency exit, because it was not safe for them to get out via the front of the vehicle.
The spokesperson said the wing mirrors of two buses had clipped the new shelter on Friday evening, before Pulhams’ bus hit it. A spokesperson for Pulhams said: “We can confirm one of our vehicles was involved in a low-speed collision with a bus stop on Saturday. “There were no injuries, a full investigation will take place and we apologise for any concern and inconvenience caused.
“We are aware there was another incident involving the same bus stop recently, which we can confirm did not involve one of our vehicles. “We are liaising with Gloucestershire County Council regarding re-positioning this stop, which was recently replaced, into a more appropriate position.” In March a Pulhams double-decker bus crashed into a railway bridge in Hyde Lane, Swindon Village .
Another of its buses hit the Alstone Lane level crossing in the town on June 10. Nobody was injured in the incidents. Gloucestershire County Council has been approached for comment following Saturday’s collision.
Report source: Gloucestershire Live
