Coach crash injures 16 party-goers

Sixteen people were injured after a coach taking them to a Christmas party collided with a milk tanker, police in Wales said today.

The coach, carrying 23 passengers, was travelling along the A483 at Howey, near Llandrindod Wells, mid Wales, when the accident occurred.

Emergency services were called to the scene at 7.20pm yesterday after the collision which caused the coach to leave the road, go through a hedge and come to a stop on its side in a field.

A spokesman for Dyfed Powys Police said three passengers had to be freed by firefighters.

The driver of the coach and 12 passengers were treated for minor injuries at Llandrindod Wells Hospital.

Three other passengers were more seriously injured and were taken to hospitals in Hereford and Abergavenny. Their injuries are not said to be life threatening.

The driver and occupant of the milk tanker were unharmed.

The spokesman said: “The road was closed for several hours and inquiries are continuing into the cause of the collision.”