The ‘anxious’ moment bus lost a wheel

‘WE HEARD A VERY LOUD SCRAPING NOISE ...THEN WE COULD SMELL BURNING’

AWOMAN has told of the scary moment a wheel fell off the bus she was travelling on in Gwynedd.

Passengers were left scared when they heard a loud scraping noise and started to smell burning as the Gwynfor Coaches 1N service drove through Bontnewydd on Friday.

The bus driver somehow managed to keep the vehicle under control despite the freak accident and brought it to a stop safely.

One passenger told how people on the bus, including a pregnant woman and a young child, were left frightened by the incident but were not hurt.

She said: “We just started to hear a very loud scraping/grinding noise like when you kerb an alloy. Then about 10 seconds later we could smell burning.

“The driver had stopped – luckily he was able to keep control of the vehicle at all times – then we could all see the wheel on the side.

“It seemed as though it had buckled under the bus, before being dragged beneath the vehicle then finally came free of the bus.

“It could have been a lot worse than just the anxiety the incident caused – there was a pregnant woman and a young child on board.”

Following the incident it has emerged that the bus had only been back on the road for a couple of hours after undergoing a service. A spokesman for Gwynfor Coaches said an external contractor had carried out work on the bus and an investigation has now been launched.

He said: “Following a period of remedial works carried out to the vehicle by an external contractor over the last couple of days, which included new brakes, brake test/ wheel torquing this morning, the vehicle was sent out to service this afternoon. We have reported the incident to the DVSA immediately and spoken to the DVSA vehicle examiner who is calling at our depo immediately. We are conducting a full investigation into the matter (as are the contractor in question) and out of respect to all others involved cannot comment any further at this time.’’

The incident sparked huge delays along the A487 with traffic queueing back to Caernarfon for more than three hours.

A North Wales Police spokesman said: “We were called to an incident in Bontnewydd, near The Newborough Arms, at 2.30pm.

“A bus had broken down and there was a problem with the wheel. Recovery were also sent to the scene to help clear the road which was blocked.”