op deck passenger David McKay, 16, fled seconds before his double-decker bus smashed its way under Chelmsford rail station bridge - peeling back its roof like a sardine tin.

The quick-thinking Brentwood schoolboy escaped unscathed by running downstairs but claims the driver did not listen to his warning shouts.

Fortunately there were no pedestrians on the nearside footpath when the aluminium roof collapsed onto the pavement below.

The accident happened at around 4.30pm on Thursday, May 16, 2013, when the bright red Regal Busways vehicle drove along Duke Street, Chelmsford, toward the nearby bus terminus.

David McKay said: "I was thinking oh my goodness he's going to hit the bridge, I said stop but he didn't stop, I don't think he was listening, he just kept going.

"It was horrible it was like a train going over broken tracks, it was a horrible screeching sound. I was completely shaken, I was so scared"

A spokesman for Regal Busways, based at Cooksmill Green, near Writtle,said: "The company is upset by the incident and pleased that no-one was injured.

"An internal investigation has taken place and appropriate action has been taken against the driver.

A spokesman for Essex Police said that the male driver was breath-tested for alcohol, as are all drivers involved in crashes, but did not give a positive reading,

However the driver is now the subject of a police investigation into the accident, which caused no injury to passengers, pedestrians or other road users.

There is no bus restriction either way underneath the Chelmsford rail station bridge, although a recommended safe 'pathway' is clearly hatch-marked on the rim of the bridge for double-decker buses and high vehicles to follow.

The police spokesman added that the investigation was in its early stages and he declined to speculate on whether the driver could eventually be charged with a driving offence.

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