'Obviously we need an inquiry into what's happened'

THOSE living near Rochdale Road are used to the constant rumble of traffic noise.

But at around 8.30am yesterday morning, their ears were pierced by an almighty bang. Straight away, they knew that 'something wasn't right.' Two double-decker buses had been involved in a horrifying crash.

One had 'gone into the other', shunting it into metal fencing at the perimeter of a large open-air car park in Collyhurst, close to the city centre. The front of one was left completely mangled.

At least one person on the upper deck of one of the buses was left trapped and needed to be rescued by firefighters. At least 17 people were injured and taken to hospital.

Thankfully none of their injuries are believed to be serious.

Locals have now spoken of scenes of fear and panic as emergency services flooded the area, including the air ambulance landing on the car park. "I looked out the window and it had just happened," said Rob Elmer, 31, whose house faces the scene.

"Other cars had stopped and some police cars were starting to arrive.

They got here really quick and closed the road off quickly. There were at least six or seven ambulances.