Thousands of pounds worth of damage has been caused after a bus collided with a bridge in Aberdeen.

The First Aberdeen double decker struck the stone Wellington suspension bridge late on Friday afternoon.

It became wedged under it causing Riverside Drive to be shut, just as the Granite City was building up for the late evening rush-hour.

Nobody was on board the bus, which saw much of the front of its top deck ripped off like a tin can.

But motorists were left fuming after being caught up in local gridlock with the road shut down as investigators tried to get it out.

A spokesman for owners, First Aberdeen, said: “We can confirm that there were no passengers on board this vehicle when it collided with the bridge on Riverside Drive. The vehicle was not in service at the time.
 

“It is too early to know the exact details of what happened but we will be providing the police with every assistance in their investigation into the circumstances."

Images of the bus at the scene showed the vehicle with the words on its electronic route sign on the front reading: "Sorry, not in service."

The bus was later towed away, with the  bus firm involved in the recovery operation.