A CAR driver was seriously hurt and a coach full of schoolchildren had a lucky escape when their bus and car collided on a bridge at Kirby Misperton.

One student from Lady Lumley's School, Pickering, suffered whiplash injuries and three car passengers were also slightly hurt in the crash which happened as the coach was carrying children home from school.

Emergency crews were called out after the coach and a Vauxhall Nova collided on the bridge over Costa Beck, on a road which joins the A169 Malton to Pickering carriageway.

Police said the driver of the Vauxhall Nova, Nathan Dean Ward, 21, from Scunthorpe, was taken to Scarborough Hospital with a broken arm and chest injuries. A spokeswoman for Scarborough Hospital said he was in a satisfactory condition today.

The car's other occupants, Clare Ward, 30, Damen Ward, 20, and Helen Aird, 19, all from Scunthorpe, received treatment for slight injuries and were not kept in hospital.

Lady Lumley's pupil Luke Ian Jackson, 12, from Norton, received treatment for whiplash injuries and was also sent home. The rest of the bus's occupants were uninjured.

Norman Corner, headteacher at Lady Lumley's, said: "It is fortunate none of the youngsters had been seriously hurt, though it was an upsetting experience. It happened as they were being taken home and they were all soon placed on a relief bus."

The road was completely blocked following the crash although North Yorkshire County Council reopened it shortly afterwards after installing traffic lights.

A spokesman for the council said: "The bridge was closed for a while and we were involved in setting up traffic lights.

"Someone will be going to inspect the bridge today to see what damage has been caused, although only the parapet has been damaged."

The bus involved in the accident is owned by Yorkshire Coastliner. No one from the firm was available to comment about the crash.

A spokesman for North Yorkshire police said they were appealing for witnesses.

PICTURE: The damaged bridge at Kirby Misperton, where the crash occurred