Birmingham New Road crash and Willenhall bus fire cause rush hour delays
Rush hour traffic was delayed in the Black Country after a collision at a major Wolverhampton crossroads and a bus blaze in Willenhall.
The crossroads crash happened at the junction of Parkfield Road and Birmingham New Road at around 2.30pm, while the bus blaze took place on Bilston Lane shortly beforehand.
Nobody was seriously injured in the Birmingham New Road accident which saw a car driving from Dudley collide with a vehicle travelling along Parkfield Road in the middle of the crossroads.
Two cars were involved and the drivers were checked out at the scene but there were no serious injuries.
Police spokeswoman Gina Lycett said: "We were called at 2.30pm following reports of two cars in collision. One person was treated for minor injuries."
Crews from West Midlands Ambulance Service were at the scene alongside the police officers and firefighters.
The cars were stranded at the junction for more than one hour, before being cleared by a recovery vehicle and traffic access restored to normal.
Traffic was delayed at all four entrances to the junction as a result, with vehicles travelling up Birmingham New Road from Dudley particularly backed up.
However, traffic returned to normal rush hour levels after the scene was cleared at around 4.00pm.
Birmingham New Road has seen a series of accidents this year.
Last month a pedestrian died after being struck by a car, with the road being blocked off for several hours.
Our reporter David Callaghan was at Birmingham New Road:
Meanwhile, Bilston Lane in Willenhall was closed after a public bus caught fire.
Two fire engines were called to the scene on Bilston Lane at around 2.22pm.
Firefighters in breathing apparatus used two hose reel jets to put out the flames in around half an hour.
The blaze started in the engine of the Arriva Midlands vehicle.
Spokesman for the firm, Keith Myatt, said: "We are investigating an incident concerned with one of our buses.
"We had our engineering team out as soon as we were given information about the problem with the vehicle.
"We are working with them and carrying out a thorough investigation into the matter."
All passengers were safely removed from the vehicle before fire crews arrived.
West Midlands Police closed off the road at the junction with Birmingham Street while the area was made safe.
