ROAD safety campaigners last night claimed a town centre bus crash which claimed the life of an elderly woman was "an accident waiting to happen".

The crash, which also injured several other people, has reignited a long-running debate around bus routes through the centre of Darlington.

Bus routes around the crash site on Northgate have long been the focus of campaigners’ efforts to improve safety in the area.

On the same spot in 2011, a runaway Arriva bus careered past the Halifax bank and Boots before crashing through two bollards and ploughing into a pedestrian area packed with shoppers, missing them by inches.

That incident reopened a debate over whether buses should be allowed to use roads so close to a busy shopping area and whether speed limits should be lowered.

Following yesterday's fatal bus crash, campaigners have again called for further safety measures in the area.

Darlington Borough Councillor Anne-Marie Curry said she had warned the council on several occasions that a fatal collision was inevitable.

In light of the tragedy, she backed members of the public in calling for a bus station to be built in a bid to reduce the number of buses travelling through the town centre.

Cllr Curry said: “After warning the council about the dangers of buses going through the town centre, I’m horrified that the situation has resulted in a death.

“This was an accident waiting to happen and I’ll be campaigning in coming months to ensure changes are made.

“I’m not saying changes could have made a difference in this case because we don’t know what happened but I do feel that it gets so busy on that corner that this incident was a matter of time.”

Darlington’s MP Jenny Chapman offered her condolences to the bereaved family and said the incident must be looked at closely to prevent future accidents.

She said: “This incident has been absolutely horrendous – it could have been any one of us.

“To go out to do some shopping and to never come home again is horrific and I cannot imagine how devastated this lady’s family must be.

“We need to understand fully what has happened here and if changes need to be made, then they should be actioned quickly.

“It is important that we do not jump to conclusions and await the outcome of any investigation.

“However, our aim should always be to keep pedestrians and traffic as far apart from each other as is possible.

“There are going to be problems when we have a bus route like that near a natural point for pedestrians to get between Marks and Spencer and the Cornmill Centre.

“We don’t know what happened but we need to look closely at this as we can’t just write it off as a coincidence.”

Both Arriva and Darlington Borough Council said it was too early to speculate on any future changes to bus routes in the area.

A spokeswoman for the council said the outcome of any investigation into the incident would “determine the lessons to be learnt”.

Council leader Bill Dixon added: “On behalf of the council, I would like to extend our heartfelt condolences to the family of the lady who has died.

“Our thoughts are also with the two people who were injured and others who have been affected.”

Arriva’s regional managing director Nigel Featham said the company would look at what changes, if any, they could make once the facts and circumstances had been established.

He added: “We’re deeply saddened by today’s events and our immediate thoughts are with the families of those involved.”