A BUS driver from Chichester has been suspended after a crash left seven schoolchildren hurt.

Youngsters from Warblington School cheated death when the single-decker bus ploughed into a lamppost in Havant, Hampshire.

The 39-seater coach was found by police on top of the lamppost, which had been ripped out of the ground and broken in two by the impact.

The injured pupils, travelling home from the school in Southleigh Road, Havant, were rushed to the Queen Alexandra Hospital, Cosham, Hampshire.

They suffered mainly minor whiplash injuries, bruising and cuts.

All the other passengers on the bus, which was not fitted with seatbelts, were driven home in a replacement vehicle.

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School head Ann Greenway said today: "I gather someone has been suspended but I cannot comment further on that.

"The injuries were quite bad despite being termed minor.

"One 12-year-old pupil has been left wearing a neck brace after she hit her head and neck on a railing on the seat in front of her.

"She has not been able to take solid foods since the accident.

"Most of the pupils were released on the same day, though. The other injuries were bruised legs and ankles."

A spokeswoman for Emsworth and District Buses confirmed Randall Rouse, 36, of Maplehurst Road, Chichester, had been suspended while an investigation is carried out.

The driver, who was not hurt in the crash, declined to comment on the incident.

Hampshire Police are also investigating.

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