TEENAGERS were showered with broken glass when a York bus stop panel collapsed on top of them.

Jessica Stead, 17, of Sadler's Court, Alne, near Easingwold, said the incident in The Stonebow left her friend, Sam Jordan, with a cut on her head, and the whole group of friends was covered in glass.

A City of York Council spokeswoman said the bus shelter, which was supplied and maintained by JC Decaux, may have been damaged in an earlier car accident.

She said the glass was quickly replaced, but further repairs were due to take place in the near future.

Jessica, an Easingwold Sixth Form pupil, said: "There were five of us sitting there and all we heard was this almighty noise.

"Everybody turned around and we just had glass on top of our heads.

"There was a couple standing there and they said they hadn't seen anything happen to the glass, and there was no evidence of anything being thrown at it.

"We had just been sitting on the bench inside the bus stop.

"It shattered into quite big chunks, quite sharp pieces, and we got it all over us."

The council spokeswoman said this was an unusual incident.

She said: "We understand there was a road traffic accident in that area and there's a possibility that as a result of this some part of the shelter was damaged. As a consequence of this the glass shattered.

"It's very unfortunate that this has happened and we are very concerned, but we are confident it is not a widespread problem."

Eric Rhodes, of JC Decaux in Sheffield, said: "I have never heard of the glass exploding without somebody doing something to it.

"If it had been hit by a car it could have shattered, but that would have happened at the time of the accident.

"It's very unusual for anything like this to happen, but when the glass does shatter it breaks up into very small pieces."

Sgt Colin Ventress, of York Police, confirmed that an officer attended the incident on the evening of Saturday May 24, and that the council was called out.

He said: "The bus stop opposite the Jobcentre on The Stonebow collapsed and there was extensive broken glass.

"One person suffered minor injuries."

Updated: 09:47 Friday, June 13, 2003