A BUS driver was injured when he lost control of his double-decker and crashed into a block of flats in the city centre.

The bus smashed into flats in West Port, near the Grassmarket, at 9.15pm last night with between 15 and 20 passengers on board.

Police and fire crews were called to remove the bus from the scene and the road was closed for four hours.

The driver suffered minor injuries and was treated at the roadside. A police breathalyser test proved negative. The bus had been travelling east to the Jewel. None of its passengers was injured.

A police spokesman said: "As the bus pulled into a bus stop, it mounted the pavement, went into the bus shelter, and then struck a lamppost and a building."