TWO teenage passengers escaped serious injury when a bus careered out of control and crashed through the garden wall of a residential home in Elton.

The bus driver, a 33-year-old man from Bury, could face prosecution for allegedly driving without due care and attention after Wednesday night's rush-hour accident in Walshaw Road.

The First Bus driver was turning left from Fenton Street into Walshaw Road when the single decker bus lurched forward and ploughed through the garden wall of Elizabeth House nursing home.

Police confirmed two teenage girls on the No 510 to Walshaw suffered minor head injuries and declined hospital treatment.

The accident happened at 5.25pm and police were forced to close Walshaw Road to traffic at its junction with Fenton Street and Cornall Street. A crane was brought in to lift the bus off the wall and it was towed away shortly after 8pm.

Mrs Sheila Mawhinney, deputy manager at Elizabeth House, said the bus was just four feet away from the bedroom occupied by an 85-year-old female resident.

She said: "Fortunately, the lady was out of her room at the time of the crash. We kept her away from her bedroom while the bus was being removed. All of our residents were unsettled.

"I was at the back of the building when I heard a loud screech and then a bang. I went out and saw the bus in our garden. It had caused a lot of damage and the repair bill will be sent to First Bus."

Bury police traffic unit confirmed that the bus driver had been interviewed at the scene and would be reported for driving without due care and attention.

A spokesman said: "This matter will be reviewed by senior officers. They will decide whether or not the driver will be prosecuted."