Chaotic scenes on Limerick street as double-decker bus gets stuck on pole

THERE were chaotic scenes in Limerick as a crew wielding an angle grinder worked to free a city bus stuck on a pole. 

The incident, which took place on O' Connell Street at the junction between Sarsfield Street and William Street, involved a 304 Bus Éireann double-decker, which had become stuck after it was unable to make the turn due to illegally parked cars.

Traffic came to a grinding halt, as a crew took an angle grinder to free the bus from the newly installed silver bollard.

The crew of three worked for several minutes to free the bus, which had inadvertently wedged itself on the pole due to an obstruction from oncoming traffic on O' Connell Street, when turning from Sarsfield Street.

A video of the incident involving the angle grinder has since gone viral and has been widely shared across social media.

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On a separate incident on O' Connell Street this Thursday, one pedestrian took to Twitter to post what they described as an "audacious incident" involving a double-decker bus and van.

They wrote: "I kept hearing beeping and turned around to see a van pulled into the cycle lane and also blocking traffic, namely the beeping bus. After three minutes of beeping he drove on and pulled in."

He was trying to take a call, the observer clarified.

Responding to a query from Limerick Live, Bus Éireann said that they apologise for the short disruption caused to their customers and thank those who helped to resolve the situation.

"Illegal parking is a frequent cause of delays and difficulties to bus services and we ask all motorists to please consider the impact of parking illegally on others, including public transport passengers," a spokesperson added.

Limerick City and County Council declined to comment on the incident involving the newly placed pole.