Girl, 14, dies following bus crash

A schoolgirl was killed in a coach crash today as Britain was blasted by “absolutely atrocious” snowstorms.

The 14-year-old died and 11 other youngsters from Lanark Grammar School were injured after their bus travelling to Alton Towers plunged into a river during heavy blizzards.

Emergency services took four seriously injured children to hospital after the coach drove into water off the A73, at Wiston, in South Lanarkshire, shortly after 6am.

Local resident Bill Wood described “absolutely atrocious” conditions with heavy snow and high winds.

Elsewhere tens of thousands of homes were left without power as blizzards, gale-force winds and torrential rain hit Scotland and the North, knocking down power lines and causing widespread transport havoc. Driving conditions were said to be “horrendous”.

In Scotland more than 20,000 homes were without electricity this morning as engineers battled against the weather to fix faults.