A Staffordshire journalist was due to return to work today after he was injured in a bus crash at the weekend.

Rob Parsons, a reporter for The Sentinel, was among 12 people taken to hospital after the bus he was travelling on crashed into a railway bridge.

Rob, (22), had to have his tongue stitched after the force of the smash catapulted him into the seat in front.

He was on a replacement bus service laid on by Central Trains to ferry passengers between Derby and Birmingham, and had been travelling to see friends at university in Coventry.

The single-decker bus, which was carrying 16 passengers, was travelling on the busy A513 between Alrewas and Tamworth when the vehicle collided with a railway bridge.

Rob said: "I remember noticing that it was quite a tight fit under the bridge and we were travelling quite fast.

"Suddenly I realised there was a tanker coming toward us and there was no way we'd both get through the gap.

"The bus driver swerved and we brushed against some trees then smashed into the side of the bridge."

All those injured were taken to Queen's Hospital in Burton-on-Trent for treatment.

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