TRAVELLERS were stranded after a bus skidded off the road near West Bay.

The Jurassic Coastline X53 bus was travelling from West Bay to Marsh Barn when it slipped off the road in icy conditions and went into a hedge.

One eyewitness said: “The back end of the bus slid out and it slipped off the road and down a small slope.

“I don’t think anyone was injured.

“All the passengers were heading down the road towards the main road.

“It was so slippery, I could barely stand up on it. I’m surprised they got the bus down the road.”

Dorset Police said that they received a call just after 2pm to say the bus had come off the road on December 22.

A spokesman for Dorset Police said: “The double-decker bus had slid from the road. The road itself was sheet ice and we contacted the local authorities about gritting it.”

Passengers walked off the bus and along Marsh Road towards the coastal road.

The accident came as the Bridport area continued to feel the impact of the snow and ice.

Shoppers flooded into Bridport before Christmas after West Dorset District Council dropped its car parking charges on December 23 and 24.

Farmer Andrew Fry, the West Dorset NFU branch chairman for 2011 and a dairy farmer from Chilcombe Farm, Bridport, said farmers have helped clear roads.

“The cows of course must still be milked twice a day, and more time is taken up just ensuring they get water and sufficient feed. “Frozen pipes have to be freed up and in this cold weather more food is needed. Cattle, like human beings, need more to sustain them. We have also had to keep clear the lane of snow and ice for the milk lorry to get in and collect the milk. “In many ways it is a public service as it also helps free up the village road that would otherwise be blocked.” Dorset County Council also paid tribute to employees who went beyond the call of duty during the snowy spell.

At Sidney Gale House residential home in Bridport staff in outlying villages stayed with colleagues or friends so they could walk in for a 7.15am start.

When agency staff were not able to make it in, permanent staff worked extra shifts.

When the relief cook was snowed in, a kitchen assistant and housekeeper cooked for residents.

The county council’s emergency planning duty officer co-ordinated efforts to set up a rest centre after a crash which left motorists stranded on the A3066 between Mosterton and Beaminster. Staff from the Bridport and North Dorset adult social care local offices and countryside rangers were joined by volunteers from the British Red Cross.

Council deputy chief executive Elaine Taylor said: “Clearly these are the day jobs of county council staff but adverse weather has made delivering a normal service very challenging in recent days.

“These stories illustrate the commitment of our staff to continue providing services to people who need them.

l Arsonists set light to a car at Bradpole in Bridport in the early hours, the fire service said.

Retained firefighters from Bridport were called to the blaze in Higher Street at 2.40am on Tuesday December 28.

The fire service said the car had been deliberately set alight and informed the police.