Man dies after horrific bus and tram pile-up

He is believed to have been a pedestrian who was struck as he waited to cross the road.

Paramedics raced to the scene in Croydon, south London, shortly before 10am today but were unable to save the victim, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Horrific: The mangled bus at the scene of the crash in which one man was killed

The bus driver was rushed to hospital and ambulance crews attended to a number of injured people.

Witnesses told the Croydon Advertiser that a 468 bus swerved to avoid a car and collided with the tram, sending the bus careering about 100m down the road, hitting shops on both sides.

Crash scene: Emergency services in Croydon, where the pile-up occurred

But police said the exact circumstances surrounding the crash were still unclear.

'We do not know at this stage know how many people were on board the bus or the tram, nor how many people were in the car,'  a Metropolitan Police spokesman said.

'We await formal identification from next of kin, but it is believed he was in his late 20s,' he added.

The trail of destruction: The bus careered along the road, into shops on either side

Collision Investigation offficers are looking into the incident and a post mortem will be scheduled in due course.

George Street, where the crash took place, and a number of access roads have been closed and police expected them to remain so for some time.

Horror: A policeman surveys the damage