THREE pupils from Ulverston Victoria High School were taken to hospital with whiplash and shock after their school bus collided with a lorry on Tuesday morning.

The single-decker Stagecoach bus was carrying approximately 80 Ulverston school pupils from the Broughton area when it collided side-on with a council vehicle near Lowick Green at around 8.30am.

Three girls sustained minor injuries in the crash.

All were discharged from Furness General Hospital later the same day, although one girl must wear a neck brace as a result of whiplash.

The 36-year-old Barrow bus driver, who Stagecoach declined to name, also suffered whiplash in the incident and was taken to Furness General Hospital.

He has since been discharged.

Barrow Stagecoach Operations Manager Bob Cook believed the crash was due to the "icy conditions of the road."

A parent who was following the school bus when the collision occured said it was travelling very slowly and seemed to skid on some ice and collide with a yellow lorry, which children on the bus thought was a gritting truck.

Melanie Saunders, the head of Ulverston Victoria High School, said there was no indication from those hurt in the crash that this was anything other than an accident.

"When children are transported by bus I always think they are vulnerable, especially when they're coming from rural areas.

It's always a worry with the weather."

She added that she would "prefer to have seat-belts on buses but it's always cost-related."

Police are trying to establish the precise cause of the accident.