A SOUTHAMPTON bus driver has appeared in court after a bus full of schoolchildren smashed into a railway bridge.

Three children required surgery for “life-changing injuries”, while 12 others suffered minor injuries when the Stagecoach bus heading for Henry Beaufort School crashed into a bridge in Wellhouse Lane on September 10, 2020.

All of those injured were youngsters aged between 11 and 16.

Daily Echo:

Martin Robert Walker, of Hood Road, Southampton, appeared at Basingstoke Magistrates’ Court this morning (Tuesday) charged with three counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

He entered a “no plea” to the three charges, neither admitting nor denying the offences.

The 36-year-old will appear at Winchester Crown Court on May 5.