A man was left with serious head injuries on Saturday night after a collision between a double decker bus and a road digger in Brighton Road, Purley.

A 16-year-old boy also suffered head injuries during the accident which happened at about 6.30pm when the number 60 bus travelling from Streatham towards Old Coulsdon collided with a large road plant vehicle.

Firefighters were forced to remove the roof of the bus to get to the injured passengers and then lift them to safety from the top deck.

Shocked residents in Brighton Road told the Croydon Guardian that they heard a loud bang as the accident happened.

One onlooker said: "I have never seen so many police. My partner came in from seeing the paramedics deal with it and he was so shocked at what he had seen. I had to give him three cups of coffee before he could talk to me."

A spokesman for the fire brigade said: "The accident involved a bus and a vehicle which removes tarmac from the road. There was only one person with serious injuries and that was from some of the machinery that encroached the roof of the bus. He was removed from the bus using cutting equipment and he was then extricated from the bus."

A spokesman for the ambulance service said two of its trauma teams and two ambulances were sent to the scene and that casualties were taken to two London hospitals.

Peter Batty of Arriva London said: "The bus struck a road maintenance vehicle at road works near the junction of Brighton Road in Purley.

"The majority of our customers were unhurt. However, five passengers sustained minor cuts and bruises and one has a more serious injury to their leg and throat.

"We worked with the emergency services and encouraged our customers to receive medical checks from the ambulance crew before being offered transport home on other services. We are working with police while they investigate the incident."

l Were you on the bus or do you know any of the injured passengers? Call our newsdesk on 020 8330 9554.