Band's coach crash horror

Two people died and six people from the Black Country, including youngsters from a marching band, were injured when a coach collided with a car and camper van in a horrific road smash.

The children, from Pelsall-based marching band West Midland Crystalettes, were on a coach on their way to the Primrose Valley Holiday Park near Filey for a contest when the crash happened. Coach driver Robert Oughton, from Burntwood, was the most seriously hurt of the victims from the Midlands.

The 52-year-old was kept in hospital in Scarborough overnight after suffering leg injuries.

The collision between the coach, carrying 55 passengers, and car happened at the Staxton Hill junction on the A64 near Scarborough in North Yorkshire yesterday at 9am. A couple from Yorkshire who were in the VW Passat died at the scene.

The coach, run by Burntwood-based 1 4 You Coaches, was travelling down Staxton Hill when it collided with a car, ploughed through a hedge into a nearby paddock and hit a camper van.

Six people on the bus suffered minor injuries and four were taken to Scarborough District Hospital, including some youngsters from the Crystalettes.

Mr Oughton, the coach driver, is the brother of Janet Lote who runs 1 4 You Coaches. She said: "My brother is in hospital in Scarborough at the moment. I am very worried about him. He got leg injuries and can't walk at the moment. He is in a lot of pain.

"I travelled up to Scarborough, as soon as I heard what had happened, to see my passengers. There was nothing but praise for my brother for how he dealt with the incident from people on the bus."

Craig Wilcox, 18, from Tividale in Oldbury, was among those involved. Mr Wilcox, a side drummer with the band, said he was still in shock following the accident and was due to visit the doctors for further assessment later today. "I've got a sore neck and my shoulder's stiff," he said.

The former Dudley College student revealed the band played after the accident, after a coach sent up by fellow Black County marching band Tividale Tigers took them to the venue.