A night out ended in tragedy when a bus carrying clubbers ploughed into a wall, killing a passenger and injuring four others.

The bus, travelling from the Ikon and Diva nightclub in York, smashed into the partition wall of the city's Churchill Hoteland then struck the parapet of a nearby railway bridge at about 1.50am this morning.

Hotel staff, who were first on the scene, said shocked passengers told them that someone had pulled the steering wheel from the driver. They said they found one man trapped under masonry in the bus. He was still breathing, but died shortly afterwards, with a passer-by holding his hand.

A further four people, including the driver, were injured. They were taken to York Hospital. It is not known how many people were on the bus.

The Bootham area was closed to traffic and trains were delayed on the York to Scarborough railway line as emergency services worked to secure the area.

The man's body was removed from the bus at 8.30am, as police officers from the Collision Investigation Unit continued their inquiries. The duty night manager at The Churchill, Gary Billingham, and trainee receptionist Dave Perry, said they heard a loud bang and ran outside to see three men running from the bus.

Mr Billingham said: "It sounded just like an explosion. We saw what had happened and I rang the emergency services. I work five nights a week so you get used to seeing the buses going past."

Mr Perry, who was the first person to get on the bus, said: "One of the passengers told me that somebody pulled the wheel from the driver because he wanted to get off, and then they ploughed into the wall." But police press officer Ron Johnson said it was too early to comment on the cause of the crash.

The First company has operated the Ikon and Diva late night shuttle service since the club first opened five years ago. The driver who has been released from hospital, was said to be "very shocked" about the accident.

Peter Edwards, commercial manager, for First York, said the company was co-operating fully with the police.

"Until now, it has been a trouble-free arrangement," he said. "It is so sad that an incident like this has taken somebody's life."

Mr Edwards said that suggestions about the cause of the accident were just "speculation at this stage".

A spokesman for Luminar Leisure, owners of Ikon and Diva, said: "This is a tragic and distressing incident which has deeply affected staff and management, and will shock our customers."

As a result of the incident, police closed the A19 at the Clifton Green junction to all southbound traffic. Vehicles were being diverted via Water Lane towards Wigginton Road and Water End towards Holgate.