A FIREFIGHTER has said passengers involved in a collision between a school bus and a lorry were "very lucky" to walk away without serious injuries.

Martin Slack, watch manager at Bootle fire station, assisted in the rescue of Millom School pupils after their bus collided with a lorry in Church Lane between Bootle Station and the swimming pool.

Around 10 pupils from Millom School were on board the bus on Monday afternoon but all escaped relatively unscathed.

Mr Slack said: "The impact on the two vehicles seemed pretty strong so I'm surprised there wasn't any injury to anyone - especially the two drivers.

"They were very lucky to walk away with only minor injuries."

Mr Slack said the occupants walked away from the vehicles prior to the arrival of the emergency services and were checked over by paramedics at the scene.

Police confirmed that both drivers, a 56-year-old male and 61-year-old male, were breathalysed at the roadside and both tested negative.

The school is now working to support both pupils and parents and have described the accident as an "unfortunate incident".

Headteacher of Millom School, Matt Savidge, said: "I have been speaking to some of the parents during the course of the day and it appears that both vehicles were travelling quite slowly.

"They were unable to avoid each other and there was a collision.

"All the students were wearing seatbelts, which is something we always check before we leave school.

"What that meant is that the injuries sustained were only minor injuries."

The majority of the children involved in the incident are already back at school and Mr Savidge is expecting the remainder to return in the coming days.

He said: "This was a really unfortunate incident to have happened but it does highlight the importance of students wearing seatbelts."

Read more:

School bus and small wagon collide near Bootle

Bootle school transforms car into pirate ship for charity race from France to Barcelona