A BUS passenger was badly injured when the double decker he was travelling on broke suddenly on the Newton Road in Kingsteignton this afternoon. (fri)

The elderly casualty was airlifted to Plymouth’s Derriford Hospital by air ambulance which landed on the nearby racecourse.

The accident happened just after 2pm.

A police spokeswoman said later: ‘The elderly passenger sustained a serious injury after the bus stopped suddenly.

‘He has been treated at the scene and airlifted to Derriford Hospital.

She added: ‘The road is closed between racecourse and Jetty Marsh roundabout. Officers from the Serious Collisions Investigation Unit are on scene and carrying out inquiries into the circumstances of the incident.’

Traffic around the immediate area quickly became congested as vehicles were re-routed.

One witness said: ‘The elderly chap didn’t look too well. I hope he will be OK.’

She confirmed that traffic, just before the start of the rush-hour, was ‘horrendous.’

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