Highams Park: Several injured after bus crashes into shop

Witnesses said "scared and crying" schoolchildren were among the passengers injured after the double-decker collided with a repairs shop at around 8.20am.

It happened on the corner of The Broadway, Selwyn Avenue, and Winchester Road and police cordons and road closures were put in place.

The crashed bus on the corner of The Broadway and Selwyn Avenue. Credit: PA

At least 19 people were injured and treated at the scene by the London Ambulance Service (LAS), including a trauma team from the capital’s air ambulance.

Of these, five people were taken to hospital, including the bus driver who had to be freed by crews from the London Fire Brigade. The severity of their injuries is unclear at this time.

The bus crashed into a repairs shop with flats above. Credit: PA

Katriye Osman, who dialled 999 after hearing what sounded like a "really loud explosion", described the incident as "traumatising".

Ms Osman, who witnessed the aftermath from outside her beauty salon, said around 50 or 60 schoolchildren were standing around the vehicle after the collision.

She said: "It was absolutely awful", adding that she was “"really shaken up by it".

Photos taken from the scene show the front of the 212 bus crumpled and its front windows smashed.

Credit: PA

CCTV footage taken from The Corner Cafe on the corner of The Broadway and Larkshall Road shows the bus narrowly avoid a woman crossing the zebra crossing. Just yards up the road, the bus came to a stop after crashing into the shop.

A woman on a zebra crossing in The Broadway puts out her arms as the bus which went on to crash drives towards her. Credit: SWNS

Waitress Tina Hogan, 58, told the PA news agency the woman entered the cafe moments later "in an awful shock".

Ms Hogan said: "She was saying 'Oh my god, he nearly ran me over. I can’t believe it. I had to run out of his way.'

"She was in an awful shock. I gave her a glass of water. She left after that."

Cafe owner Eric Garip, 38, said he rushed out of The Corner Cafe after hearing a "big bang" on the opposite side of the road and began trying to carry people out through the emergency door of the bus.

Mr Garip said: "We were trying to take the kids out and they were panicking. It was very bad...they were all scared and crying."

The scene in Highams Park. Credit: London Fire Brigade

Mr Garip also said some parents in the bus were crying as well and that the driver was stuck in the wreckage.

He said he believed the driver of the vehicle was eventually rescued by emergency services after becoming "squashed" behind the steering wheel.

Station commander Dave Hill, from the London Fire Brigade, said firefighters used specialist cutting equipment to release the bus driver.

Emergency services in The Broadway, Highams Park, this morning. Credit: PA

Multiple emergency services raced to the scene in Highams Park with the London Ambulance Service confirming it sent ambulance crews, advanced paramedics, paramedics in fast response cars, incident response officers, members of its Hazardous Area Response Team, and a trauma team from London’s Air Ambulance.

The crashes 212 double-decker bus. Credit: PA

Transport for London's director of buses Louise Cheesman said a full investigation into what happened is underway.

Earlier this morning, London mayor Sadiq Khan tweeted his thoughts were with everyone affected by this "terrible incident".

Chingford and Woodford Green MP Sir Iain Duncan Smith said: "Thank you to the first responders and emergency teams at the scene. My thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected.

"A number of people have reported suffering injuries and are being treated at the scene."