Runaway bus havoc at festive fund-raiser

The bus at its resting point in Uppermill

A runaway bus caused havoc at a Christmas fundraising event in Uppermill ahead of a Winter Wonderland parade organised Saddleworth Round Table.

The empty bus was parked in the square on Saturday afternoon, but began to roll and clipped a metal bollard, bounced off another and flattened a third before stopping against a lamp post, partially blocking the pavement.

David MacDougall (37), one of the event organisers, said: “It was surreal. We heard a man running, shouting and banging on the side of the moving bus and it soon became clear he was the driver.

“Thankfully nobody was injured.”

Police and the bus company’s incident team crowded round the bus, which suffered a broken windscreen and damage to lights and panels.

The event went ahead as planned and was a great success, organisers reported.