A passenger has praised the driver of a bus carrying 26 schoolchildren after it was involved in a crash with a car.

The accident happened on the A258 in Walmer last night, and resulted in the car overturning.

The smash, at 5.15pm, involved a Bayliss Executive Travel bus which had to overtake a parked MG car on the entrance into Walmer.

It was hit by a VW Passat with a driver and a passenger, which flipped on to its side.

Police attended the scene between Ripple Road and Downlands and put diversions in place.

Motorists were caught up in long queues, made worse by another coach which had broken down on the A258 at Oxney Bottom.

Mary Douglas, who was on the Bayliss bus with her two sons, said: "The bus driver was absolutely fab and Bayliss sent another bus to come and get the children."

There was a jolt when the car hit the bus, and the children were a little shaken up, she added.

Alistair Bayliss, the owner of the coach firm, commented on Facebook: "Very proud of our driver Andrew, who handled the situation very professionally tonight, thought he did a great job. #‎topdriver?"

"The bus driver was absolutely fab and Bayliss sent another bus to come and get the children..." - Mary Douglas, bus passenger

In an earlier statement he said: "We would like to apologise to the residents of Deal for the traffic chaos tonight due to an incident, sadly it was out with our control!"

He told KentOnline's sister paper the East Kent Mercury this morning that he had visited the parochial school to ensure the children involved were OK.

"The most important thing for me and for us as a company is to ensure the well being of the children. And they're fantastic," he said.

Mr Bayliss praised his whole team including assistant manager Robert Mariott who immediately got in a coach and helped walk the children to safety and take them home.

Mrs Douglas added: "We were coming home from the Tower of London with a coach full of children. We went up there and had a fab day.

"We had to go around the parked car but the Passat came towards us and smashed into us. He just didn't stop."

A Kent police spokeswoman said: "Police were called to a collision between a VW Passat and a coach, reported at 5.15pm.

"There are no injuries reported. The road was blocked but was reopened at 7.30pm."

The incident has sparked a long debate on social media - especially Facebook - with some calling for the removal of a parked MG car. Others claim the car forces motorists to slow down to prevent accidents.

One user, Steve Cesar, called for better traffic management and called for Facebookers to band together to pressure KCC for road improvements.

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