A ROAD was closed after a bus hit an overhead power cable.

The accident happened in Bruce Grove, Shotgate, yesterday.

Highways officers closed the road in both directions while police diverted traffic.

The accident comes a week after the road, which is normally closed to heavy vehicles, was opened as a diversion route during a ten-week renovation of nearby Hodgson Way.

Residents had raised fears the road would be severely damaged by heavy traffic, although Essex County Council had promised to carry out any repairs afterwards.

A 60-year-old man from Bruce Grove, who asked not to be named, said: “It’s really dangerous for people walking children to and from school. I’m very concerned about this.”

Most cars were able to use nearby roads to get around the problem. But some of the larger vehicles were stuck as they were too big to use the smaller roads.

They were only freed after engineers used a pole to raise the cable up.

The incident is not believed to have affected electricity supplies to homes.