A coroner has voiced safety fears over the lack of seatbelts on buses - almost six years after a crash on the A47 which killed a driver and one of his passengers.

One June 26, 2018, the First Buses service between Peterborough and Norwich collided with an articulated lorry on the A47 near Guyhirn.

Its driver, 45-year-old Michael Elcolmbe from Swaffham, died in the crash along with 76-year-old William Chapman from Kettering.

Inquests into both men's deaths concluded a year ago, but now, Cambridgeshire area coroner Simon Milburn has voiced his concerns over the crash.

Mr Milburn has written to the Department for Transport (DfT) warning there is an "obvious risk" when buses without seatbelts are used for long-distance journeys - particularly in rural settings.

In this case, the double-decker bus used on the 80-mile journey was not equipped with the safety provision.

Government regulations require all new buses to be fitted with seatbelts, however, there are exemptions for those used in urban settings with standing passengers.

The bus being used for the journey was one of these, with evidence heard the route passes through a number of urban centres between the two cities.

Mr Milburn wrote: "While there was no evidence either death would have been prevented by the wearing of seatbelts, a number of other passengers were injured in the collision.

"I am concerned where buses are undertaking such journeys as this through predominantly rural locations and subject to the national speed limit without seatbelts being required that there is an obvious risk of death if collisions occur - particularly at high speed."

A DfT spokesman said "While travelling by bus and coach is one of the safest modes of transport we are committed to improving the safety for all bus passengers."

The department added that it had previously written to the coroner explaining it thought current regulations were appropriate.