Eight taken to hospital after roof of double-decker bus ripped off in bridge crash

Eight people were taken to hospital after the roof of a double-decker bus was torn off when it hit a railway bridge, police have said.

Emergency services were called to the incident in Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire, shortly before 2pm on Thursday.

Photos from the scene show the top deck of the Stagecoach bus exposed with the roof lying on the road nearby.

Police Scotland said there are no reports of any “serious injuries” and that enquiries into the collision are ongoing.

A Scottish Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “We received a call at 1.55pm to attend an incident on Culzean Crescent, Kilmarnock.

“One ambulance and three special operations response teams were dispatched to the scene and four patients were transported to University Hospital Crosshouse.”

ScotRail said no train services had been impacted. Network Rail said specialist engineers inspected the structure following the incident, but said the bridge had not "sustained any structural damage."

A spokesperson for Stagecoach West Scotland confirmed one of their buses was involved in an incident.

They said investigations were "ongoing" and they are working "closely with Police Scotland”.

It comes after a double-decker First Bus hit a railway bridge in Glasgow on Saturday evening, with several people injured.

A 60-year-old man was taken to the city’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in a critical condition at the weekend.

A woman, 52, and five men, aged 30, 32, 41 and two aged 33, were taken by ambulance to the same hospital for treatment to minor injuries and were later discharged.

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