The male pedestrian hit by a First bus in Westcliff is walking and has not suffered life threatening injuries.

The young casualty was taken to Southend Hospital after colliding with the bus at the junction of London Road and Chalkwell Avenue, close to Chalkwell Park.

An East of England Ambulance Service spokesman said he was able to walk and "seemed to be ok."

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Damage - picture by Robin Pinnock

 

The Herts Air Ambulance was also called to London Road, along with numerous ambulances and police cars.

A spokesman for First said the bus sustained a smashed windscreen during the incident and has been temporarily taken out of service to be returned to the firm's Southend depot for repairs.

He did not know which service was affected, but another service could be sent to pick up the passengers who had been unable to complete their journey or they could catch the next service.

He said: "The bus has sustained a damaged windscreen and it will be taken out of service and it will be taken back to the depot.

"We will either send another bus to pick up the passengers and take them on to another destination or the next service will pick people up and they will be transferred onto the next service to take them further."

Eyewitnesses, including nearby businesses, reported seeing the damage to the bus.

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Picture by Robin Pinnock

Daisy Mansfield, from Kay Mason Bridal shop, London Road, said: “We hadn’t seen anything happen. We heard the helicopter land. There was a lot of medical attention and about two or three police cars. There were quite a few paramedics and ambulances.

“We saw a double decker bus with the windscreen badly damaged and smashed.”

A spokeswoman from Morris King Opticians, on London Road, said: “ The bus was on the corner of Chalkwell Avenue. The door and windows on the right side were all completely smashed in. I couldn’t see a car involved."

Robin Pinnock, 61, of Woodfield Park Drive, said: "I was in Aldi when I heard there had been an accident and when I went over the air ambulance landed in Chalkwell Park.

"It looked like a pedestrian had been hit by the bus crossing over, it looked like a bad one as the windscreen on the double decker was all cracked at the front.

"There were three ambulances and police so it looked very serious." 

A spokeswoman from Diamond Specialist Dry Cleaning services in London Road said the man must have been badly hurt because he was taken away in a stretcher.

A spokesman for Helpful Bathrooms in London Road, Westcliff said: “I didn’t see what happened but it was just a young lad that had walked out into the road and been struck at low speed. He was fine and standing.”

 

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Air ambulance in Chalkwell Park

 

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The scene in London Road