A London double-decker bus which had its roof ripped off when it smashed into a tree on Kingsway in Central London.

The roof of the Number 91 bus "came clean off like a knife through butter" in the freak accident.

Five people were injured, with two taken to hospital, when the bus clipped the overhanging tree, sending the roof crashing into the road behind it.

Full-time carer Ms Delaproser, who was sitting downstairs, said: "I was lucky to have come away pretty unscathed, I'll be wary of getting on another bus again.

"If someone was standing up on the top deck I don't think they would have stood a chance, not with that impact."

The double-decker was left with its upper-floor seats and handrails visible and its roof on the ground. It was in front of a tree with skinned bark next to a road sign that warned of "overhanging trees" and a height limit of 2.5 metres, or eight feet, three inches on the inside lane.

The vehicle was later driven, minus its roof, around the corner and parked up, and the debris cleared away.

Ms Delaproser said she was travelling to a protest outside the Royal Courts of Justice when she felt a sudden jolt when the bus hit the tree.

She said: "We were coming down Kingsway when all of a sudden there was a big bang.

"Another passenger went upstairs and that's when we realised the whole roof had been taken off.

"It was such a shock. We were worried it could have been a bomb. You just don't expect it. My mind went blank, it was just pure shock.

"There was a man slumped on the ground of the bus, his nose was bleeding. Everyone was in shock. A lot of people were visibly upset. There was an elderly couple up there in shock.

"If you look at the roof, it looks like it has been cut with a knife. It's lucky more people weren't injured or worse."