A little girl was in the passenger seat when the car she was travelling in collided with a bus, leaving a woman trapped.

Firefighters used hydraulic cutting equipment to remove the car's roof and worked with paramedics to rescue the woman from the vehicle.

The woman was treated for potential neck and back injuries before being taken to Medway Maritime Hospital. The little girl, who is thought to be eight or nine, was sat in the front passenger seat but was not injured.

VIDEO: Firefighters helped free a woman trapped in the car.

Emergency services were called to Maidstone Road, Chatham, just before 10am.

Nathan Bell was a passenger on the bus and waited with the woman, who is thought to be in her 30s, until the paramedics arrived.

The 31-year-old said: "The bus driver was on the phone straight away so I went to help the woman.

"She was slumped over the steering wheel, and in quite a lot of pain and not very responsive so I stayed with her until the emergency services arrived.

"I tried to keep her and her little girl calm, she was just trying to cuddle her mum. She was in the passenger seat so she could see everything."

As a scout leader Mr Bell has first aid training but said it was the first time he had used it.

"It's the first time I've ever been in an incident like that. I'd always thought I would faint but it just kicks into gear," he said.

Although he was thrown forward by the impact he said he had not been badly hurt in the crash.

An ambulance spokeswoman said the bus passengers were assessed for minor injuries but no one required further treatment.

A spokesman for KFRS said: "Firefighters helped to free a woman who was trapped in a car following a collision with a bus in Maidstone Road, Chatham.

"Crews removed the roof of the car with hydraulic cutting equipment to access the casualty, who was released and passed in to the care of the SECAmb."

A police spokesman added: "Kent Police was called at 9.52am on Thursday 14 January to a report of a collision between a lorry and a car in Maidstone Road, Chatham.

The road was closed in both directions until around 10.45am.