Girl, 15, and driver die in school bus horror

A GIRL of 15 and a school bus driver were killed yesterday after the vehicle overturned in a motorway crash.

- Jan Risley

Four other youngsters were seriously hurt and were last night being treated in hospital.

Police said a 14-year-old boy suffered life-changing injuries.

The bus is thought to have hit a reservation near junction five of the M53 at Hooton, Cheshire, and flipped over on to its side. No other vehicles were involved but a total of 58 people were on the bus.

Police said four were taken to hospital - two to Liverpool's Alder Hey Children's Hospital and two to Arrowe Park Hospital on the Wirral, including the 14-year-old boy. Some 52 passengers attended a local emergency services centre, where 13 were treated for minor injuries and then released. A further 39 were discharged with no treatment.

Emergency services said junctions three to five of the M53 would remain closed in both directions for "a considerable time".

The pupils were on their way to classes at Calday Grange and West Kirby grammar schools on the Wirral in Merseyside.

Some shocked pupils were able to clamber from the wreckage through a back window, while others were helped to safety by firefighters. 

Witnesses described the area as being littered with broken glass, with terrified children standing on the hard shoulder.