This could have been a lot worse....it used to be full of kids playing, or imagine if the circus etc were on there at the time.. ............................... SHOCKED visitors to Sunderlandâs seafront told today how a runaway bus smashed through a fence and into a park. The single decker Stagecoach vehicle, which had passengers on board, careered off course and hit a lamppost before ploughing into Seaburn Recreation Park. The driver received treatment for minor injuries after being sprayed by debris from the smashed windscreen, but none of the six passengers on board were harmed. Investigations were underway today into the cause of the smash which happened at 9.15am on Saturday at Sea Lane. A fence post is thought to have speared the cab, narrowly missing the driver. One resident, who did not wish to be named, said: âWeâve heard that the driverâs brakes failed when he was coming round the corner and rather than crash into houses he swerved into the rec.â Sea Lane resident Stan Hughes said: âIf itâs true that his brakes failed then the driverâs a very brave man, I wouldnât have wanted to be confronted with that situation. âI didnât see the crash but I heard it, as did everyone else in the street, it sounded like the house was going to cave in. âThere was a little boy and his grandfather next to the scene and the little boy was hysterical. Itâs so fortunate that no one was hurt, it could have been a lot worse.â The bus had been making its way off the roundabout at the bottom of Sea Road when the incident happened. Yvonne Hunter from Lemonfield B&B on Sea Lane said: âUsually, on a Saturday morning there are lots of kids playing on the grass but fortunately it was unusually quiet that day.â The bus first hit a silver Mercedes car parked on the road before smashing through the fence and travelled half way across the field before coming to a rest at the other end of the rec. The road was closed for around three hours while the bus was removed. A Stagecoach spokesman said: âA bus operating the E6 service that runs between South Shields and Sunderland was involved in an incident around 9.15am on Saturday in Seaburn Terrace. âSix passengers were on board the bus at the time, none of whom was injured. The driver of the bus received minor injuries in the incident ............................................... On a brighter note... Lucky gits.. A RETIRED plumber and his wife are £1.2million richer today after winning the Lottery. The couple, from Whitburn, were celebrating their huge win with friends and family. They were left stunned after discovering their numbers had come up during the Lotto draw on Wednesday night. It is believed the winning ticket was bought from a Sunderland newsagents. The lucky pair were due to be named today at a press conference, where they were giving details of how they planned to spend their winnings. Their winning numbers were 10, 14, 21, 25, 39, 45.
