A BUS ploughed into a line of parked cars after it was in a crash with an oncoming pick-up truck in Haworth last night in an incident which left a passenger in hospital with chest injuries.

The single deck bus, which was travelling downhill along Haworth Road, was involved in a collision with a Mitsubishi L200 and then hit a parked car which shunted into other stationary vehicles at about 9.50pm.

Firecrews attended from Bingley and Shipley and the injured passenger was taken to Airedale General Hospital for treatment.

A spokesman for West Yorkshire Police said a 45-year-old Halifax man had been arrested and charged with driving while over the legal alcohol limit. The man has been released on bail. 

The Keighley News understands that the man charged was not the bus driver.

One of the damaged cars belonged to Denis Frear, who spoke of how a colossal bang brought him and wife Valerie out of their home in Haworth Road to find their Mercedes-Benz had been badly damaged.

"I thought it was a aeroplane that had fallen down, " said Mr Frear.

“The crash happened between the bus and a pick up truck 20 yards up the road at the junction with Vale Mill Lane that goes to Oakworth.

“Then the bus carried on and hit my car so hard it pushed into four others.

"And then the bus carried on further, ending up in the middle of the triangle that divides Hebden Road, knocking down a road sign.

"It was a beautiful car and it will be a write-off.

"The only good thing is it's a miracle it happened when it did, when no-one was about and nobody was seriously injured."

A spokesman for Transdev said: "Unfortunately we can confirm one of our vehicles was involved in a collision yesterday evening when our driver had to take evasive action to avoid a serious collision.

"As a result one of our customers was taken to hospital and our driver badly shaken up. We are obviously assisting police in any way we can."