A BUS driver involved in a serious crash has hit back at claims he was speeding.

Clive Skinner, from Sudbury, was driving a Stephensons bus when it was involved in a serious collision with a black van on Witham Road, in Black Notley, last week.

He remains in hospital following the incident last Tuesday morning, which left him with a fractured sternum and bruised lung.

Following the collision, police were forced to close the road near to Black Notley Veterinary Surgery.

Drivers were forced to divert along Buck Hill and Church Road.

An air ambulance was called to take Mr Skinner to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge.

A passenger in the car was also taken to Broomfield Hospital for treatment on facial injuries.

The Stephensons bus ended up in a hedge on the opposite side of the road following the collision.

Motorists took to Facebook to express their concern about the stretch of road, which has a 40mph speed limit in place.

One road user branded the road a “race track” and said “people drive too fast”.

Another claimed bus drivers also drove too fast.

Mr Skinner said: “People are saying the buses are speeding, but video footage shows that I was doing 31 miles per hour just as we entered the 40 zone – I wasn’t speeding.

“Reading these comments is not just upsetting for me but for the passenger involved who I am more concerned about.”

Mr Skinner, who has worked for Stephensons buses since February, was moved to West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds to be closer to his home in Sudbury.

He said: “I am grateful to the police and the ambulance service and the helicopter team for getting me here, and of course the hospital.

“I have just had anaesthetic patches put on my chest to help with the pain.

“I’m also on morphine – I don’t know how long it will be until I recover.

“I am going to have to have rehabilitation and probably go to see a psychologist as well. I will be out of action for a considerable time, I could be here for another week or two.”

This was the second road incident to occur on Witham Road last Tuesday morning.

Police were first called after 7am to a collision involving a white motorcycle and a blue Mercedes Sprinter Van.

The motorcyclist was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Black Notley Parish Council is currently waiting to install a vehicle-activated sign which will flash at drivers going above the speed limit.