A CORNER shop in Bournemouth was left severely damaged after a bus smashed through the front in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The front end of the single decker Yellow Bus was left embedded in the corner shop, at the junction of Alma Road and Heron Court Road, following a collision with a car moments before.

Aziz Kinay, who was due to finalise purchasing the store this week, was in the stock room at the back of the shop when the bus hit.

"I was tidying up the stock room and the store was closed. I heard a noise, like a bomb and tried to get out to see what had happened.

"But I couldn't get out the front.

"I was shocked and panicking as I didn't know what had happened.

"I had to get out the back and then realised the bus had gone into the front.

"It was very scary. It was lucky I wasn't in the front of the shop at the time."

Bournemouth Echo:

Mr Kinay added: "We don't know what the extent of the damage is yet. We need to contact insurance companies and the police again."

Emergency services were called to the scene around 2.40am after reports of a collision between a car and a bus.

The bus was removed from the shop on Sunday morning, leaving windows and doors smashed, wires hanging from the roof, parts of the ceiling missing and stock scattered all over the premises.

A cordon was erected around the store, due to the amount of broken glass and vehicle fuel on the pavement.

Bournemouth Echo:

Picture from Dave Parker

Some efforts were made to secure the building, but it is not yet clear how extensive the structural damage is.

A spokesperson for Dorset Police confirmed three passengers on board the bus suffered minor injuries and were described as 'walking wounded'.

Two fire crews from Springbourne and Redhill Park were sent, along with a heavy rescue appliance and another crew from Blandford.

Fire crews stabilised the vehicles and helped the passengers to safely exit the bus.

A spokesperson for South West Ambulance Service said the driver of the bus and the driver of the car, were taken to Poole and Bournemouth hospitals for treatment.

Their injuries are not thought to be life-threatening.

Two ambulances, a rapid response vehicle and officer were sent to the scene.

Bournemouth Echo:

Picture from Dave Parker

Jenni Wilkinson, Yellow Buses’ Head of Marketing said:

 “Our N5 Service was involved in an incident in the early hours of this morning and we are currently assisting the police with their investigation.”