BAFFLED commuters watched on this morning as a bus driver got stuck in mud trying to turn around in a busy road.

The driver of a Stagecoach X34 bus had gone the wrong way down the East Lancashire Road near the junction of Ellenbrook Road and Newearth Road in Walkden shortly after 6.30am.

Witnesses took to Twitter after seeing the red-faced driver try to turn the vehicle around when it got wedged in wet ground.

Aidan Hilton tweeted: “Traffic jam on Lancs because a bus driver has tried to do a u-turn and got stuck in mud! You just couldn't make it up.”

Lisa Tonge said: “Insane gridlocked traffic on the East Lancs road earlier due to a bus which has tried to turn around and gotten stuck in mud!”

The road was open again at about 9am but tailbacks continued through the morning.

A spokesman for Stagecoach said: "At about 6.30am today, one of our vehicles on service X34 was involved in an incident at the junction of Newearth Road and the A572, where there are ongoing roadworks.

"During the incident, the bus wheels sunk into a grass verge beside the road and the vehicle was unable to continue the service.

"Customers were able to continue their journeys on the next available service. However, we are very sorry for any inconvenience caused to our customers as a result of this issue.

"Safety is our absolute priority. We are assisting police with their inquiries as well as carrying out our own investigation into what happened on this occasion."