A bus driver has been airlifted to hospital with a serious leg injury after a multi-vehicle collision.

The driver was trapped in the bus for more than an hour as firefighters and paramedics worked together in a delicate rescue operation.

Eight other people were injured when the bus was in collision with a number of cars after hitting the central reservation barrier.

The accident, which happened just after midday today, brought traffic to a standstill on Manchester Road, Bradford.

The citybound carriageway was closed from Southfield Lane to St Stephen’s Road after the accident, which was near to Broadway Avenue. Traffic in the outward bound carriageway was later diverted down Parkside Road, while the casualty was taken to a waiting air ambulance.

The double decker First bus, which had a number of passengers on board, was heading towards the city centre when it collided with the central reservation barriers, demolishing a section of it. It then lurched back to the inside, colliding with five cars, at least three of which were parked. Roads policing officers are now investigating what caused the incident.

The bus was surrounded by a trail of destruction as the rescue operation was carried out. Firefighters cut the roof off one car so the occupants could get out and severe damage could be seen to a black 4x4, a blue Ford Focus and a green Nissan.

Four road ambulances, two paramedic response cars and four fire engines, were at the scene of the accident, along with a number of police vehicles. The air ambulance was immediately summoned and landed on a church car park on the opposite side of the carriageway.

Firefighters had to make the bus secure with timber before the driver could be freed. Parts of the bus, including the back of the driver’s seat, had to be cut away to get access to the casualty.

A Roads Policing spokesman said the bus driver had suffered serious, but not life-threatening leg injuries.