
Two children and two adults remain in hospital after school bus crash that killed a boy, 10, when 70-seater overturned and slid down 20ft slope
A 70-seater a coach carrying Minehead Middle School pupils on Thursday crashed off the road, flipped onto its roof and slid 20ft down a steep bank.
A total of 21 people were injured in the crash as it drove year 5 pupils back from an end of term trip to the zoo.
Four children and three adults remain were in hospital - the two remaining youngsters were taken to Bristol Royal Hospital for Children by air ambulance following the accident.
A police spokesperson said the investigation into the crash was ongoing.
One boy, Jayden, who was on the bus and suffered a suspected broken collarbone in the crash, visited Minehead Middle School to lay flowers at the scene earlier today with his mother Kim.
He said: 'I just remember climbing up the hill to get back on the road and that's it.
On his injuries, Jayden said: 'I'm alright, it just hurts.'
A 70-seater a coach carrying Minehead Middle School pupils on Thursday crashed off the road, flipped onto its roof and slid 20ft down a steep bank. Pictured: People lay floral tributes at the scene
She told the BBC she has had to break the news of the child's death to Jayden, adding: 'He's lost a friend.'
Emergency services, including five helicopters, rushed to the scene on the A396 in Somerset to free passengers who had become trapped inside the bus.
An off-duty firefighter travelling behind the coach was able to save the lives of children by immediately starting to free them minutes after the collision.
But he has said he 'couldn't sleep' because of the scenes he witnessed.
Alan Jones, 64, ferried passengers to safety by driving them to a safe hub on his quad bike.
Mr Jones, who now works as a trainer and lives at East Harwood Farm, said he took a total of eight adults and children to the Rest and Be Thankful Inn in Wheddon Cross.
'They're just so innocent and it wasn't their fault. It was a sorry sight,' he said.
'When you hear it's children from a middle school, I should think everybody dropped everything like I did, because it's just something about children - they're pretty helpless, really.
'I think it would have been wrong not to try and help. I was there in under 10 minutes.
'When I got there, the road was closed and the police were everywhere. Everybody was just looking at the bus.
'I didn't know there were any fatalities at the time, but I knew there were children still in the bus, and all of the police officers were just basically around the bus and there wasn't anybody else about, really; I was the only local person there.'
Dozens of pupils, parents and local residents who laid flowers outside the front gates of the school - which closed on Friday following the tragedy.
The school's head teacher, Laura Mackie, was among those laying flowers.
'I'm thinking of my staff team who are amazing, dedicated, and all of our wonderful students that have been affected and impacted by this awful, awful incident.
'It's just been horrific,' she told the BBC.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Sun
22 minutes ago
- The Sun
Man, 27, arrested after ‘asking children to engage in sexual activity in park'
A 27-YEAR-OLD man has been arrested after he allegedly touched himself while asking children to engage in sexual activity in a park. Cops rushed to the scene at the park near Wingate Road, Grimsby, on Monday at around 4.20pm after multiple reports were made. The force said officers were immediately deployed and spotted a man matching the description. A 27-year-old man was then arrested on suspicion of causing children to engage in sexual activity. He remains in police custody at this time. A Humberside Police spokesperson said: "Officers were called at around 4.20pm to reports that a man allegedly indecently touched himself and was asking children to engage in sexual activity at a park near Wingate Road in Grimsby. "If anyone witnessed the incident or has any further information that may assist officers with ongoing enquiries, please contact us via our non-emergency number 101 quoting crime reference 25*101397." You can also give information anonymously via the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. 1


BBC News
22 minutes ago
- BBC News
Ashton Vale: People return home after bomb threat as man arrested
Dozens of people have been allowed to return home after a bomb threat forced police to evacuate 63 properties. Residents living in and near South Liberty Lane in Ashton Vale, south Bristol, were told to leave on Tuesday evening following reports a man had access to potentially explosive items.A suspect was arrested at 19:10 BST on Tuesday and a bomb disposal team was deployed, Avon and Somerset Police were allowed to return home just after 03:00 BST when a precautionary 100m (328ft) cordon was lifted, police said.


The Guardian
22 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Ian Hislop calls arrest of man holding Private Eye cartoon at Gaza protest ‘mind-boggling'
The terror arrest of a man for holding up a Private Eye cartoon during a protest at the weekend was 'mind-boggling', the magazine's editor, Ian Hislop, has said, as the retired teacher called for an apology from police. Jon Farley was picked up by police at a silent demonstration in Leeds on Saturday, which he described as a 'pretty terrifying and upsetting experience', for holding a sign that made a joke about the government's proscription of the group Palestine Action from the last issue of the fortnightly satirical magazine. '[Police officers] picked me up, grabbed me, and took me to the side, and I ended up sitting on the pavement,' the 67-year-old said. 'I think that's when they said something about the placard. And I said: 'Well it's a cartoon from Private Eye. I can show you. I've got the magazine in my bag,' by which time, they were putting me in handcuffs.' He was then arrested under section 12 of the Terrorism Act 2000, which prohibits support for a proscribed organisation. 'I thought, this is all a bit surreal,' said Farley, who had never been arrested before. 'I clearly wasn't any kind of physical threat. There was no need for them to act in the way they did. 'By this point I was in the van, so I wasn't going anywhere. I said: 'You take the handcuffs off and I'll show you the magazine because what you're doing is just daft.'' In the meantime police found out his name from his senior bus pass and he was taken to a police station. Six hours later, after being questioned by counter-terror police, he was allowed to leave, under bail conditions that he attended no 'Palestine Action' rallies, which, as he pointed out, he had never done and would be illegal under terrorism laws anyway. On Monday morning, a counter-terror officer called to tell him he would face no further action. 'So I said: 'If I go on another demo and I hold up that cartoon again, does that mean I will be arrested or not?' And she said: 'I can't tell you, it's done on a case-by-case basis.'' He said: 'There's been no apology, no explanation. It's this murky lack of clarity.' Farley, who was left with minor bruising and cuts to his arms, said he was 'frustrated and angry' after the experience. 'I was just very shocked at first and then relieved, but now I'm thinking, hang on a minute, what happened here? 'What really concerns me is the whole atmosphere of intimidation.' Farley, who had attended a number of peaceful demonstrations in the past, pointed out on the day he was arrested, 32 Palestinians were shot by the Israel Defense Forces in Gaza while queuing for aid, a subject referenced on his placard. 'I saw it in Private Eye and I thought: 'That's really well thought-out. It's got a bit of nuance about it.' But I don't think the cops do nuance. 'I found out later somebody said to one of the police: 'You know you can buy Private Eye in the newsagent just next to the van you're putting him in, are you going to arrest Ian Hislop?' 'So they're coming out with all this guff about: 'If it's in print, it's fine. But if you carry it on the demo [it's illegal].' That sounds to me like the police making up the law.' Hislop, speaking from Private Eye's London office – having not been arrested – said the cartoon was 'quite blatantly an example of freedom of speech on the subject of a government policy'. The editor of the 63-year-old satirical magazine said: 'I did think it was mind-boggling. I mean, ludicrous. He obviously couldn't believe it and the immediate response in the office was that someone said: 'Well, the jokes have been criminal for ages.'' He said the cartoon was 'actually a very neat and funny little encapsulation about what is and isn't acceptable, and it's a joke about – I mean, it's quite a black joke – but about the hypocrisies of government approach to any sort of action in Gaza. 'So it's not difficult to understand. It's critical, but it is quite clearly a joke. Seems to me absolutely extraordinary that someone could be arrested for holding it up.' He added it was 'disappointing' that the arresting police officers did not appear to have heard of Private Eye. 'That's really depressing, isn't it? That's probably the most appalling thing,' he joked. West Yorkshire police said: 'We are sorry that the man involved is unhappy with the circumstances of this arrest. As this is a new proscribed organisation, West Yorkshire police is considering any individual or organisational learning from this incident.'