PEDESTRIAN Philip Barnes suffered a fractured skull when he was hit by a bus in Mealhouse Lane, Atherton.

Mr Barnes, aged 23, of Oxford Road, Hag Fold, Atherton, was taken to the Royal Bolton Hospital where he is expected to remain under observation for several days after the accident near the junction with Bag Lane.

Mealhouse Lane was a one-way street until last week. It became two-way as part of changes being made for the pedestrianisation of Market Street.

Taxi proprietor Jeff Cunliffe, who runs J & K Taxis in Elliott Street, Tyldesley, where Philip's stepfather Michael Boote is a driver, criticised the new two-way system.

He said: "It was a disaster waiting to happen."

Police closed Mealhouse Lane for a period and lengthy traffic jams formed as vehicles were diverted around the town centre.