TWO drivers have been convicted over the collision between a digger and school bus which injured 20 children in Winchester.

Four pupils from The Westgate School in Fulflood, Winchester, were taken to hospital when the Brijan Tours double-decker collided with a JCB working in the city's Stockbridge Road.

Scores of others had a miraculous escape when the bucket of the digger which was parked in a garden smashed into the top deck, ripping a long gash in the vehicle and showering children with glass.

Teachers and staff from the school rushed the 300 yards to the scene to give first aid.

At the time head teacher Peter Jenner praised to swift reactions of the emergency services.

Police officers said it was remarkable that no one was more seriously hurt or even killed in the accident in November last year.

Shortly after the smash, pupil Andrew Mansell, 15, who was on the bus, described the moment it had happened.

He told the Daily Echo: "The first impact took everyone by shock and no one knew what to do. Then it moved down the bus like a repetitive bang. It sounded like a gun I suppose.

"It shattered all the glass, spraying it everywhere. The top windows were completely thrown across the bus."

City councillor Ray Pearce added: "It's a miracle no one was killed. This is a real shock. It is always worrying with the traffic problems we have in this area."

Bus driver Geoffrey Leach, 32, of Park Farm Avenue, Hill Park, Fareham, was disqualified from driving for three months, fined £200, with £100 costs for careless driving.

JCB driver Eddie Grinyer, 64, of Sherbrooke Close, Kings Worthy, near Winchester, was fined £100 with £100 costs for obstruction of the highway.

The pair were convicted at Aldershot Magistrates' Court following a trial.

A county council spokeswoman said Brijan Tours, based in Bishop's Waltham, was still working for the county council ferrying children to school.

When contacted, a member of staff at Brijan declined to comment and referred the call to the council.

It was unclear whether Leach is still working for the company.