Double decker bus rolls backwards and smashes into London house

TfL is believed to be investigating if the driver had engaged the handbrake on the bus

(Sam Riches)

A double decker bus rolled backwards and smashed into a family home in London on Monday afternoon.

The incident, which saw an empty number 174 bus roll backwards from its stand on Dagenham Park Drive across a main road and into a house at around 2:14pm on Monday, is being investigated by Transport for London (TFL). The bus is operated by Stagecoach.

The driver reportedly chased after the bus to try and jump inside the vehicle, but the double decker was moving too quickly for him to reach it in time.

TfL said there were no reported injuries, but the driver is understood to have been taken to hospital to be treated for shock and minor injuries.

TfL has begun checking on-board CCTV as part of the investigation, which is likely to focus on whether the bus’s handbrake was on or off, the London Evening Standard reported.

The owners of the house on Dagenham Park Square, Harold Wood, east London, are currently on holiday, but their double-glazed porch has been crushed by the bus, with a blue hatchback parked in the property’s drive reportedly severely dented.

Nexhmia Kiptni, 47, told the paper: "There was a huge crash when the bus hit the house. We have been told the handbrake failed but no one is sure yet.

"Those poor people whose house was damaged – but at least no one was badly hurt. It was the middle of the day, it could have been much worse."