Van on fire after hitting school wall

A van careered off the road, smashed into a Staffordshire school and burst into flames.

These dramatic pictures – captured by an Express & Star reader – show the fire after the crash in Greenheath Road, Hednesford.

Click on the image on the right to see more pictures.

Staff at Westhill Primary School were today counting the cost as a perimeter wall was completely destroyed and damage caused to one of its buildings.

The driver managed to climb out of the cab of his white Vauxhall before the fire took hold and was not seriously hurt in the midnight smash.

Shaun Miles, headteacher at the 300-pupil school off High Mount Road, said parents dropping their children off at school told him about the crash. "The van has mounted the pavement and careered into the perimeter wall, which has been demolished. Part of the fencing has been damaged and part of the external wall of a school building as well," he said.

"Glass was littered everywhere and we had to check with the council it was alright to open. They have sent one of their building surveyors to assess the damage so we're awaiting the results of that."

He added: "We are obviously very disappointed but it's one of those things. A lot of the children are quite sad about what's happened – they are proud of their school and this has upset them."

Keith Bennett, aged 53, lives opposite the school. "I was upstairs and heard an almighty bang," the father of three said.

"I told one of my lads to call 999, got an extinguisher and rushed out. It was useless but fire crews were there within minutes."

The school opened as normal yesterday following the overnight crash on Monday.

Firefighters spent 40 minutes putting out the blaze. The driver was treated by paramedics at the scene.