Passengers hurt in coach crash

Forty-one passengers were hurt, one seriously, when a coach packed with young partygoers returning from a 21st birthday celebration veered off an isolated road and plunged into a 12ft ditch early yesterday. Eight people were detained in hospital following the accident on the A1121 near Boston in Lincolnshire, at about 4am. Three people trapped in the wreckage had to be cut free by firemen.

Police said high winds, which whipped across The Fens, may have played a part in the crash. Inspector Kevin Hilton said most of the passengers were sleeping when the crash occurred. The coach, which had 42 passengers - all in their teens or early 20s - was returning from a nightclub in Nottingham. The 15-year-old vehicle did not have seat belts.