MORE than 20 children were left severely shaken after their school bus sank into a verge, leaving the vehicle wedged at nearly a 45 degree angle.

The driver of the Coombs Travel coach had pulled over onto a wet grass verge to allow an oncoming vehicle to pass.

But the verge collapsed, causing the coach to lurch down into the ditch and become wedged in mud.

The accident happened at around 4.20pm on Monday and it took about an hour for a team from a haulage company to drag it back onto the road.

The children, from Hugh Sexey Middle School, were said to be shocked and in tears and were led to safety, many escorted through the emergency exit.

Another bus travelling not far behind, belonging to Axe Vale Coaches, was able to pick them up within just a few minutes and continue the route so they could all be dropped off home.

Three fire crews and an ambulance attended but there were no injuries.

Villagers have said the road is part of a dangerous rat-run for people coming from the A370 and going down Edingworth Road onto the A38 towards Bristol, which is especially treacherous in bad weather.

Coombs Travel’s transport manager June Carroll said: “The driver was a bit shaken up. He tried to let a car past which was coming towards him and because the ground was so soft after the rain, the grass verge he pulled onto just collapsed and the bus slid down.

“He helped look after the children and ensured they all got off the bus.

“It is a 70-seater bus and he was doing the school run so some had already got off but there were still quite a number on board.

“That road is a rat run, especially in wet weather.”

Paul Williams-Thomas at Axe Vale Coaches said: “One of our drivers, Ian Clarke, was travelling not far behind and stopped to help.

“He rang me for advice and I said to take the children home so they were not left to get cold on the roadside.

“A lot of them were very shaken and in tears.

“The bus had tipped over a bit and was at an angle of about 45 degrees or so.”

East Brent Parish Council chairman Val Rawles said: “There is an issue with that road as it is used as a rat-run by quite large volumes of traffic.

“I have helped a family whose car sank into a ditch along here earlier in the year.”