FOUR children were injured in an incident on a school bus this morning.

The F21 service was travelling from Dunnington to Fulford School at about 8.30am when a tyre is said to have blown in Heslington Lane, causing debris to spread into the passenger area.

Lorna Savage, head of Fulford School, said the parents of the injured girl and three injured boys had all been made aware of the incident.

The girl and one boy were taken to York Hospital for further treatment, and two other boys are recovering at home.

She said the girl had suffered facial injuries, after dust and debris "went into her face and into her eyes", while one boy was believed to have suffered a burn, and injuries to his lower legs. All four were thought to be sitting closely together when the tyre blew, and the full details of their injuries were not yet known.

One parent, who asked not to be named, said her children were on the bus when the tyre blew, and said it sounded "like an explosion".

She said: "My son said someone was covered in blood. He was a couple of rows away, but I think just the two were injured."

Mrs Savage said: "Some of the children were put on another bus by Pullman, and made it to school that way. Others were collected by their parents.

"We will be making contact with the family shortly. We are giving them time to be treated before we make contact to find out how they are. Investigations will be carried out by the bus company and local authority and will be carried out over a longer period of time, and we are in constant contact with them."

A spokesman for Pullman confirmed "the rear offside inner tyre blew out", during the journey.

He said: "This caused damage to the inspection cover on the wheel arch within the saloon. Unfortunately some pupils were injured as a result and are receiving medical attention. 

"A full investigation is being conducted internally alongside the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency. Safety is at the heart of our operation here at York Pullman and it is our overriding priority.  We are co-operating fully with Fulford School and City of York Council, we wish the children a speedy recovery."

Mrs Savage said students on the bus had used their mobile phones to report the incident as it happened. North Yorkshire Police were not called to the scene, while the Yorkshire Ambulance Service said they had been made aware of the incident, but paramedics were not required to attend.

A statement on the school's website said: "We want to make you aware of an incident on the F21 bus this morning. We’ve been informed by the bus company that there was a tyre blow out which has led to some debris coming into the passenger area of the bus.

"A small number of students have sustained injuries and are now receiving medical attention. The relevant parents have been made aware, in any instance where a student has received an injury. We will be completing a full enquiry into this incident alongside York Pullman and the Local Authority."

Mrs Savage said: "By the time I got to the site, parents were there.

"We got the students back into school and made sure they were calm and reassured, and got information from them as to what was going on."

York Press:

Councillor Keith Myers, executive member for education, children and young people, said two investigations were underway into the incident, and the authority was "working with York Pullman, the DVSA and the school to quickly understand what happened and to take any necessary action".

He said: "We take the safety of our children and young people extremely seriously, and wish the children involved in this incident a speedy recovery.

"There are two investigations taking place to understand what caused it, one led by the bus operator and another - as is usual in these circumstances – by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA)."

The Press has contacted Pullman Buses for a comment.