Parents horrified after two wheels fall off school bus carrying children in Milton Keynes

A coach company is holding a full investigation after two wheels bizarrely fell off one of its school buses while it was taking children to school.

The incident happened on Thursday afternoon last week in Hanslope, where parents and siblings of the schoolchildren were waiting for the familiar yellow Bill’s Coaches bus to drop the youngsters off.

"For years, the yellow bus has been a symbol of safety and reliability. However, on this fateful day, as the bus trundled along, a catastrophic incident unfolded. Two wheels of the bus came off, crashing onto the road,” said one witness.

"The scene that followed was nothing short of chaos. Children on board the bus were screaming and understandably distressed, while those waiting by the roadside were forced to scatter as the wheels flew dangerously close to them,” said one witness.

Parents acted swiftly to ensure their children’s safety, moving the heavy wheels out of harm's way, she said.

No child, either on or off the bus, was injured as a result of the incident and the female bus driver managed to bring the bus to a steady halt so the children could safely disembark.

The witness said the incident sent shockwaves throughout Hanslope and parents were “outraged”.

But many parents have been understanding and have sent the bus driver cards and chocolates to thank her for her swift action.

Meanwhile the Bill’s Coaches school bus service has resumed as normal this week while a thorough scrutiny takes place to discover what made the wheels fall off.

The Stacey Bushes-based company runs a fleet of coaches all over England and all are subjected to strict maintenance and checks before they go on the road. This is the first time such an incident had happened and it has left mechanics puzzled.

It is believed one disturbing strand of the investigation will be whether the bus was deliberately tampered with.

Ryan Legg, managing director of Stacey Bushes-based Bill’s Coach Hire, told the Citizen today (Monday): “At Bills Minibus & Coach Hire Limited we all take the safety of our passengers, drivers and other road users very seriously.

We have engaged the services of a specialist Transport Consultancy to investigate the circumstances of this incident and have already been in contact with the relevant authorities over the matter.”

Ryan added: Until the investigation is completed it would be wrong for anyone to speculate on the cause of this incident. We will not be making any other comments until such time as we have received the consultant’s report.”