TWO youngsters suffered cuts and bruises after their school bus crashed into a wayward tree branch on a country road.

One of the children needed hospital treatment following the collision, which occurred shortly after 7.30am on Noak Hill Road at the junction with Church Street, near Billericay.

It is believed their injuries, which were not serious, were caused when the driver was forced to brake suddenly as the low-lying branch smashed through a bus window.