Bollards in town centre knocked down by coach
A coach driver crashed into two bollards in Maidstone town centre – on his first day on the route.
The accident happened in the High Street shortly before 1.15pm on Monday, with two loud bangs reverberating through the town centre.
The collision left debris strewn across the road but no one was injured.
The driver of the National Express bus said it was his first day doing the route, from London Victoria to Dover.
Janice and Richard Howard, who had been travelling from Norfolk to Folkestone for a holiday, were on board at the time of the collision.
They said: “We were on the back of the bus half asleep and we felt a jolt.
“They told us to get off. We didn’t know what had happened.”
The driver carried pensioner Yvonne Dekarski off the bus after the accident.
The 82-year-old from Hythe said: “I didn’t see anything.
“I was sitting right by the side at the front. It was just a very big bang and then a clink of something.”
“The driver was brilliant, he stopped almost immediately. I think he just hit it [the bollards] by a whisker but he was a good driver and he handled it very well.”
The crash happened at a traffic calming pinch point in the High Street, where the road narrows to a single carriageway.
Passer-by Monika Ferguson criticised the layout of the road, saying it was an accident waiting to happen.
She said: “Buses come down here every few minutes.
“It is a terrible construction. I can’t understand how anyone sanctioned this.”
It is not yet known when repair works will take place. Passengers from the coach were taken to onward destinations by taxi.
A Kent County Council spokesman said: “The bollards are maintained by KCC highways and unfortunately because of the damage sustained they will not be put back at the current time.
“In the meantime, the area will be made safe with temporary tarmac.
“All costs involved, at this stage unknown, will be recharged against National Express coaches.”