Bromley: A bus driver got caught in a jam when his double-decker lost its roof under a railway bridge in Shortlands.

The top deck was ripped off as he tried to squeeze through a 12ft clearance beneath the railway line at 11.30am, on July 7.

Onlookers screamed warnings as the driver took a wrong turn before smashing into the bridge.

Stagecoach spokesman Ben Franklin said: "The upper deck is wrecked so we can't even make it into an open-decker bus."

He added: "Fortunately, the bus was not in service. Otherwise, it would have been a potentially serious incident which could have resulted in casualties. The driver tried to negotiate a bridge which was not high enough to take the bus.

Stagecoach has set up an investigation to find out why the driver did not observe clear signs on the bridge marking its height.

Traffic police are also investigating the incident.

There were no passengers on the bus and the only casualty was a woman who was treated for shock from watching the collision.

Trains were delayed for two hours while Railtrack engineers examined the bridge. A Railtrack spokesman said: "There may have to be some repairs because the yellow and black markings have had a bit of a battering. But there's no really bad damage."

July 10, 2002 11:30