SHAUN LOWTHORPE A driver was killed after a car was in a head-on crash with a double-decker bus used by Bernard Matthews to pick up its workers. The crash happened on the A1067 Norwich to Fakenham Road.

SHAUN LOWTHORPE

A driver was killed after a car was in a head-on crash with a double-decker bus used by Bernard Matthews to pick up its workers.

The crash happened on the A1067 Norwich to Fakenham Road just before 4.30am on Saturday when the red bus and a black Ford Focus crashed.

The driver of the Ford Focus, who has not been identified by police, is thought to have died instantly when the car was engulfed in flames, while the bus driver was taken to hospital.

The crash happened about a hundred yards from the Attlebridge turning at Morton-on-the-Hill and left debris scattered across the road.

The road was closed until around 2.15pm while the crash was investigated and the scene cleared.

Officers spent most of the day sifting through the debris on the road while the burned car was covered with a tarpaulin. Drivers were diverted down the Old Fakenham Road.

Sgt Adrian Hales, from Norfolk police, said it appeared the bus was heading towards Norwich and the Ford Focus heading away from the city when the crash happened.

He said: “The black Ford Focus is completely burned out and unfortunately the driver has died in the vehicle. At this time we cannot identify who that driver is and we are currently trying to do that.

“The investigation is ongoing as to why the crash occurred. The bus driver has minor injuries and has been taken to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.

“We are appealing for witnesses because at the moment we only have people who arrived at the scene after it happened. We do not have any independent witnesses who saw the crash.

The road was closed while accident investigators tried to establish what caused the crash, which was also attended by firefighters and ambulance crews.

A spokesman for Bernard Matthews confirmed the double decker was used by them to take workers to work.

He said: “We believe the bus was on its way to pick up our employees. We use the bus to transport workers to Great Witchingham.”

Witnesses should contact the Eastern area traffic unit at Acle by calling 0845 456 4567.