A bus passenger who escaped unharmed from a double decker which crashed into a field said today: "I thought I was going to die."

Yvonne Millen, 37, was on the packed Brighton and Hove bus which careered off a country road and almost tipped over.

Six passengers, two of them with serious injuries, were treated in hospital.

Seventy people were on the bus when it tore across a ditch and through a hedge in rural Station Road at Berwick, near Lewes, on Saturday morning.

The driver was arrested and later released on bail to report back to police on April 10.

Mrs Millen, of Royal Sussex Crescent, Eastbourne, who aggravated a back injury in the crash, said: "I thought I was going to die.

"We were only about 600 yards down the road from Berwick station when it happened.

"The driver was going quite fast. I won't go as far as to say he was speeding, but he was going a bit on the rapid side.

"First there was a huge jolt and I thought the front left tyre had blown.

"The bus went forward for a bit, then it started sliding towards the verge and then it went through the hedge.

"The bus ground to a halt and started to tilt. We were at the top, on the left-hand side. It tilted quite far over towards the field and then it tilted back. It was really, really scary.

"There was an elderly gentleman who fell into our seat and there was a man in his late 30s who had cut his leg.

"We didn't get off the bus immediately but moved to the right hand side of the bus to stop it going over "There was a lady at the bottom of the stairs who couldn't get up.

"She was lying on her side complaining her hips and thighs were hurting. I'm hoping she's okay.

"Because she was at the bottom of the stairs nobody wanted to go past her.

"Somebody, possibly from the bus behind, then got on board and told us we could get off. This was about five minutes after the crash.

"The driver did not give any instructions. To be honest I couldn't tell where the bus driver was.

"He got out of the bus and I lost sight of him. He didn't take control."

Brighton and Hove Bus and Coach Company had hired out the bus, named after former Brighton and Hove Albion chairman Mike Bamber, to London General bus company for a Southern Railway train replacement service operating between Berwick and Lewes stations.

All three travel firms are owned by transport group Go- Ahead.

As experts from the Department for Transport today examined the damaged bus at its Hove depot, police ruled out high winds as the cause of the crash, Sgt Brian McCartney, of the road policing unit, said: "Six people were taken to hospital but it would appear that most of the injuries were minor, with two having serious injuries.

"I don't think the weather was a factor. It got breezy later on but it wasn't at the time of the crash.

"It's quite a narrow lane and the two wheels dropped off the side of the tarmac on the near side. The driver was unable to keep the vehicle on the road.

"We are now waiting for the download of data from the bus."

Three passengers were taken to Eastbourne District General Hospital by ambulance while the other three casualties made their own way to accident and emergency.

Roger French, managing director of Brighton and Hove Bus and Coach Company, said it was fortunate the vehicle did not topple over.

He was relieved to hear that the injuries were not as serious as first thought.

Mr French said: "We loaned one of our buses to the London General bus company, so it wasn't one of our drivers involved.

"The bus is back at our garage in Hove. We have no reason to believe there was anything mechanically wrong with the vehicle but we are cooperating with the Department for Transport's vehicle inspectorate investigation."

After the crash, some passengers got on another bus before police had a chance to interview them. Officers urged them to get in touch.