Brighton bus crashes into shopfront on Trafalgar Street

A Brighton and Hove bus crashed into a shop on Trafalgar Street after first colliding with another car.

The incident occurred just before midday on July 1, with the 3X bus colliding into the shop Fossick Wares.

There was visible damage on the right-hand side of the bus from where it had come into contact with another vehicle.

The 3X bus collided with a shopfront on Trafalgar Street (Image: NQ)

Trafalgar Street was closed temporarily while emergency services dealt with the situation.

East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service confirmed that the collision involved another vehicle and that all passengers were safely evacuated, with no injuries reported.

A driver was eventually able to reverse the bus out of the shopfront and drive away.

Jess Child was sitting at the Bread & Milk café, watching as the incident unfolded right before her.

She said the crash involved a bus, a taxi, and a car parked on the corner of Whitecross Street, which was blocking the way.

Jess Child witnessed the collision, calling it a 'disaster waiting to happen' (Image: The Argus)

“There was a car parked on the double yellow lines on the corner of Whitecross Street,” Jess said.

“A taxi was coming down Trafalgar Street, the bus was going up the other way.

“It looked as if the bus became impaled into the building. And the taxi scraped along the side of the bus, and the back of the taxi came off.

“It was loud, especially when the back part of the taxi came off.”

A combination of emergency services dealt with the situation (Image: The Argus)

Jess said that it was not the first time that a bus had crashed in the exact same spot, calling it a “disaster waiting to happen”.

“It’s the second time a bus has gone into that shop,” Jess said.

“It’s the new 3X bus route. This is such a narrow road, it’s ridiculous to get a bus up here.

“With traffic coming both ways, it’s a disaster waiting to happen. And it’s now happened to that shop twice.

“Buses and cars coming round this corner - there’s not enough space for a bus to turn and a car to get round.”

Jess says a car was parked on the corner outside Bread & Milk (Image: The Argus)

Alicia Masse works in Milk & Bread. She also mentioned that a bus had collided with Fossick Wares before, and added that she sees close encounters between vehicles in that spot on a daily basis.

“It’s the second time it’s happened to that shop,” Alicia said. “There was a big loud crunch when the back of the taxi came off.

“Working in this café, I see near accidents every day.

"Every single day.”

The damage caused to the shopfront of Fossick Wares (Image: The Argus)

A spokesperson for Sussex Police confirmed it was a damage-only collision and the road has since reopened.

Anyone with any information can report it online or call 101, quoting serial 720 of 01/07.

Nick Hill, commercial director of Brighton and Hove Buses said: "We are aware of an incident that took place earlier today on Whitecross Street into Trafalgar Street.

"Our response team arrived in minutes and there were no injuries.

"We will undertake a further review of this section of the route and drivers are reminded to be extra careful on this corner."