THE road where a bus crashed into an Islamic community centre was an accident waiting to happen, according to one of the venue’s trustees.

Amar Abbas said congestion, parking on pavements and a 30mph speed limit caused serious problems on Granville Road in Blackburn.

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Three people, including a pregnant woman, suffered minor injuries when a Transdev Lancashire bus struck the side of the Dar-Ul-Madinah building on Monday evening.

Mr Abbas said he would now increase pressure on Blackburn with Darwen Council to improve road safety outside the busy complex.

Around 100 children were attending classes at the education centre when the bus and two cars were involved in a collision at around 6.20pm.

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Mr Abbas said the building, which includes a bookshop and is managed by the Dawat-e-Islami organisation, is used by up to 150 people a day.

He said: “We are still waiting for a structural engineer to assess the damage. We have been there for two years and in that time we have raised the traffic problems with the council repeatedly.

“Because parking is allowed on both sides, the road becomes a tunnel and it is an accident waiting to happen with so many children around.

“Me and other volunteers work as traffic marshals on a rota basis. Ten minutes before the incident, I was standing with dozens of children right where the bus crashed.

“Our main concern is that the people injured make a recovery, but hopefully this unfortunate incident will make the council think about new traffic calming or parking measures.”

The bus mounted the pavement and went through a perimeter wall, before striking a column at the side of the building, formerly Leamington Road Baptist Church.

A spokesman for Blackburn with Darwen Council said the authority will not comment while a police investigation is ongoing.

Two crews from Blackburn fire station attended the scene, and paramedics treated the two injured bus passengers and the pregnant woman, who was in one of the cars.

Cllr Arshid Mahmood, who represents Labour in Corporation Park, agreed with Mr Abbas that steps have to be taken to improve safety in the area. He said: “We need to look at anything and everything that will solve this problem. I was there after the incident and the general feeling was one of relief. People were shocked and I hope the injured people can get on with their life as normal but everyone is relieved that no children were hurt.”

A spokesman for Transdev Lancashire said the male driver of the bus was not hurt and the company is helping police with their inquiries.