A PASSENGER on the bus which smashed into a town centre bridge has accused Stagecoach of not caring about her safety.

Last week The Gazette reported that a double decker was heading towards town from Baughurst when the top half of the vehicle was torn away after it smashed into Chapel Hill bridge.

To read the full story of what happened click here

The roof was ripped clean off, blocking Kingsclere Road, with shattered glass covering both sides of the road last Wednesday afternoon.

There were two passengers on board at the time and one has told The Gazette of her shock at the smash. The lady, who is in her late 70s and asked not to be named, said: “My friend and I were seated downstairs, at the front down stairs section, close to the bottom of the stairs.

“When the bus hit the bridge there was a loud noise followed by glass cascading down the stairs just in front of us.

“The jolt of the collision caused me to bang my leg and caused a slight but minor bruising. We were both shocked.

“We were amazed that the driver carried on driving, through the bridge, round the roundabout and only stopping when he reached the road below the railway station steps.

“While he was going through the bridge, the noise was horrendous and glass was continuing to cascade down the stairs in front of us.

“At the time parts of the roof were hanging down on the offside and at the back of the bus.”

The woman has accused Stagecoach staff of lacking concern for its passengers.

She said: “When the bus stopped, the driver paid no attention to us, but grabbed his mobile phone and started using it.

“We asked the driver if we could go and he just said yes. At no time did he check we were unhurt.

“We then attempted to catch two more buses to the bus station, but having told the drivers what had happened, the first exited his cab and went over to look at the damaged bus. The second likewise showed no concern for our welfare.”

A Stagecoach spokesperson said: “Safety and taking care of our customers is our absolute priority. We are continuing to investigate the incident, including the steps taken following the accident.

“We can appreciate this will have been a very unsettling experience for our two passengers. Our driver may also have been in shock following the incident.

“Our operations manager called the passengers shortly after the incident.

"However, contact couldn’t be made and we are sorry that this was not followed up.

“We have since spoken to the two ladies to apologise for the incident and ask after their welfare. We had also arranged flowers.

“We will ensure we learn any lessons which emerge from the investigation into what happened.”