ABOUT 20 people were shaken but not seriously injured when the bus they were travelling in swerved into a ditch and tilted onto its side.

Several passengers were thrown from their seats and some suffered minor injuries in the accident, in Church Lane, East Peckham, at about 10.10am on Friday.

One of the injured passengers, Jean Philpott, 76, of Drage Road, East Peckham, was accompanying her friend, Josephine Allen, into Maidstone. She said that the bus driver had swerved to avoid an oncoming car.

“It was terrible, everybody was shocked. I didn’t know what happened and I ended up sliding along the floor. The driver was so shocked but he did well to avoid the other car,” Mrs Philpott said.

She suffered swollen knees in the crash and is currently house-bound with a brace on her left leg. Mrs Philpott and another passenger with minor injuries were taken to the Kent and Sussex Hospital, Tunbridge Wells.

A woman living near the crash site offered passengers cups of tea to calm their nerves.

Kevin Hawkins, commercial director for Arriva Southern Counties, said that one of the company’s buses on route number six had been involved.

He said: “Our driver took avoiding action as a large car came around a narrow corner at speed - resulting in the bus mounting a grass verge. Initial indications from the police are that our driver is not at fault.”

West Kent Police were unable to confirm what role the other car had played in the crash.