Six people were injured when a bus ripped a car apart in a terrifying head-on smash yesterday.

The car driver, who had to be cut free from the wreckage, suffered a broken leg plus head and neck injuries.

The driver of the bus suffered a blow to the head and four passengers needed treatment for minor injuries.

The bus driver was breathalysed at the scene, in Houghton Market Place, near Sunderland, but his employer Go North East confirmed it proved negative.

Paramedics gave emergency first aid to the trapped motorist while firefighters used special cutting equipment to get him free.

Sub Officer Colin Jeffrey said: "I took us about 45 minutes to get him out and he was in agony. We had to take the roof off but the car was already a write-off anyway."

He said the offside wing of the bus had been ripped off in the smash.

The stretch of road was sealed off for three hours while the wreckage vehicles were towed away and accident inquiries were carried out.

Yvonne Dixon, marketing manager for Go North East buses, said the company had now launched its own investigation.

This will include a thorough mechanical check for the bus itself, as well as examining the bus driver's own driving history.

She said: "It is believed that the car did go out of control and hit the side of the bus.

"We will obviously look at the driver in the circumstances and ensure that he was not at fault, although it is expected that he wasn't."

The Peugeot driver, who had to be cut free from the wreckage, suffered a broken leg plus head and neck injuries. He was a 30-year-old male. He was carrying a 35-year-old male passenger who suffered a bump to the head.

The driver of the bus suffered a blow to the head and three female bus passengers, aged 13, 58 and 52 needed treatment for minor injuries but were immediately released from hospital.