Three children have been taken to hospital after a double-decker school bus crashed into a railway bridge tearing its roof off.

The bus is understood to have been travelling to a Welsh-language high school in Newport when it smashed into the bridge at around 7.45am.

Paramedics treated several people at the scene, with three injured pupils being taken to hospital. 

Their conditions have been described as non-life-threatening.

Images show the bus, which is believed to have been travelling to high school Ysgol Gwent Is Coed in the Duffryn area of the city, with its roof ripped off.  

Jo Townsend, whose son, Gruff, 13, is one of the pupils being treated in hospital, told the BBC: 'I was worried, frantic. I went under the tape, I was getting to my son. 

'You send them off to school and you think everything will be ok... you don't expect anything like this to happen.'

Ms Townsend added that Gruff was 'hit in the head with a pole' during the crash, and is being treated for bumps and scratches.

Train operator Transport for Wales said services between Newport and Hereford are likely to be severely disrupted or cancelled. 

A spokesperson for Gwent Police said: 'We received a report of a road traffic collision in Tregare Street, Newport, at around 7.45am on Tuesday, October 20. 

'Officers attended along with crews from South Wales Fire and Rescue Service and the Welsh Ambulance Service and the collision involved a school bus and a railway bridge.

'Three children have sustained injuries and will be attending hospital for treatment; their injuries are not thought to be life-threatening.

'The road is currently closed and diversions are currently in place.'

A spokesperson for Transport for Wales said: 'Due to a bus colliding with a bridge between Newport and Cwmbran

'Services may be delayed by up to 60 minutes or cancelled in both directions between Newport and Hereford.'