Witnesses have described the moment a 12-year-old girl was hit by a bus outside Trinity School, Erith Road, Belvedere, yesterday afternoon.

The incident happened at around 3.30pm as children were leaving at the end of the school day.

Pupils have said how the girl - named locally as Caitlin Martin - ran in front of a bus as she attempted to reach her mother on the other side of the road.

She is said to have frozen in front of the oncoming vehicle, which was unable to brake in time.

A group then formed around the girl, whose face some claim was covered in blood, while emergency services were called and arrived on the scene.

One pupil, who did not want to be named, told News Shopper: "It happened in the last hour during the school run.

"A girl ran out in front of the school and was hit by a bus.

"There is no road protection there, it is an unmanned crossing, the pupils just run out to get the bus."

Pensioner Sue Lambell, of Erith Road, who lives close to where the incident happened, said: "I saw some kids out of the front of the house - they were crying - I knew something had happened.

"I went out to see if they were alright and I saw the road was blocked off.

"I could see the bus windscreen had been cracked and there was a hole at the bottom of it."

The girl was rushed to hospital by air ambulance and is currently in a stable condition.

Her injuries are not said to be life threatening.

After the incident Erith Road was closed both ways between Brook Street and Pembroke Road.

Road is a 'death trap'

Mark Eden, 47, who has lived in Erith Road for 15 years, said it's only a matter of time before someone is killed on the road.

He said the situation is particularly bad during rush hour, with parents driving up to the school to pick up their children and youngsters cramming themselves onto buses to get home.

He said: "It is terrible - I am suprised people haven't been killed.

"You've got buses racing down, cars racing down, lorries racing down.

"You need a zebra crossing for the kids and a speed camera. It's a death trap that road.

"We've had a car smash into the front of our neighbours house, another one crashing into the wall out here. It is frightening."

This Is Local London:

The collision happened along this stretch of Erith Road, opposite Trinity School

The father-of-six added: "Something has got to be done about it. Either a car is going to smash into one kid or a car is going to smash into a group of kids.

"We live here and I cannot even let my kids play at the front of the house. It is like the M25 out there.

"And the way buses speed down there - I feel sorry for the girl."

A spokeswoman for the London Ambulance Service said: "We were called at 3.26pm to reports of a road traffic collision involving a bus and a pedestrian in Erith Road, Bexley.

"We sent a responder by car and London's Air Ambulance to the scene.

"We treated a girl reported to be 12 years old.

"She was taken by London's Air Ambulance to the Royal London Hospital." 

No arrests have been made.

Did you see what happened? Call the news desk on 01689 885 711 or e-mail patrickgg@london.newsquest.co.uk