Death bus 'should have been stopped'

• Police and recovery teams haul the single decker coach from the embankment after it spun out of control while crossing a bridge on the A73. Five people remained in hospital last night following the accident. Picture: Robert Perry

Natasha Paton was killed after the coach she was in smashed into a bridge and crashed 10ft into the water below in freezing conditions. It is believed she died instantly.

Natasha's parents said they were devastated at the loss of their "beloved daughter", who was days away from her 18th birthday.

The teenager, from Cleghorn, near Lanark, had been travelling with 38 other pupils and six staff from Lanark Grammar School on a pre-exam trip to Alton Towers theme park in Staffordshire.

They had set off on the planned 245-mile trip despite a severe weather warning from the Met Office and conditions described by locals as "absolutely atrocious".

Questions were raised about the wisdom of the journey after it emerged one mother had withdrawn her son because of concerns over the weather.

Police said they believed weather had been a factor in the crash. South Lanarkshire Council said it would be wrong to speculate about the cause at this stage, but insisted that roads had been gritted.

Residents told The Scotsman they were surprised that such a journey had gone ahead, considering the appalling conditions.

Clydesdale MSP Karen Gillon said a full investigation should be carried out, and The Scotsman understands there will be a fatal accident inquiry into the crash.

Alan Brown, managing director of the bus company involved, Photoflash, said the decision to proceed had been taken after a discussion early yesterday morning between the driver – who has more than 35 years' experience – teachers and parents.

He said he believed black ice had been a factor in the accident.

The coach spun off the road at the village of Wiston, near Biggar, in blizzard conditions at 5:50am, only 12 miles into the journey. It is understood the vehicle came off the A73 and slid 10ft down an embankment while crossing a bridge over the Garf Water. The coach was left lying on its side and partially in the freezing water.

Two people had to be airlifted by a Royal Navy Sea King helicopter from Prestwick and taken to Glasgow's Southern General Hospital with "heart problems" and "leg and chest injuries". About 30 other passengers also needed hospital treatment.

NHS Lanarkshire said five people remained in hospital last night, all in a stable condition.

Susan Thornton, a driving instructor from Lesmahagow, Lanarkshire, told how she had refused to let her son Adam go on the trip. She said: "We had been at a show on Tuesday evening in Glasgow and had been returning home in the atrocious weather.

"I said to my son that I thought it best he didn't go on the trip, as I was concerned for his safety. I'm a driving instructor and you just wouldn't have been able to drive in that. Someone should have made a decision not to go ahead with that trip."

Local resident George Hamilton, 68, said: "Common sense should have prevailed. It will make a lot of people think, why did it happen when it could have been prevented?"

Elizabeth Boyd, 67, whose granddaughter, Laura, goes to the school, said: "The weather was forecast to be awful overnight. I am astounded as to why the trip was given the go-ahead."

Iain Heggison, 45, from Wiston, Biggar, who lives 150 yards from the crash scene, was there within minutes.

He said: "I saw the kids screaming and crying and struggling to get up the banking. It was pitch dark, blowing a total blizzard, total whiteout.

"I saw the kids panicking and huddled together trying to form a human chain to help each other up the slope.

"When I found out exactly where they were going, the first thing I thought was 'Why could they not have cancelled?'"

A total of 15 ambulances and eight fire crews attended the crash scene. Jim Doyle, assistant chief fire officer at Hamilton, said: "Crews who first arrived at the crash yesterday morning encountered an arduous scene.

"Some pupils had made their way out of the bus and up the embankment and were in the back of an HGV lorry. We managed to get the pupils and staff into the village hall. But when trying to establish a head count, there were persons unaccounted for."

He said firefighters involved would be offered counselling.

Superintendent Iain Murray, of Strathclyde Police, said the exact cause of the accident was still under investigation, but added that the crash scene was not an accident blackspot.

He went on: "It is safe to assume that the weather played a major part in the accident."

Prime Minister Gordon Brown and First Minister Alex Salmond have passed on their condolences.

Lanark Grammar was closed yesterday and will open for a few hours today for counselling.

Coach firm boss Mr Brown said: "There was a discussion at the school that morning between the teachers and driver and some of the parents.

"There was only two inches of snow and in a large vehicle, that wouldn't be a problem, and parents from that area said the roads weren't that bad. We do believe, from what we have heard, there was severe black ice."

The managing director said the driver, whom he did not name, was devastated after being told of the girl's death and described him as one of his most experienced drivers.

He is currently in hospital with a fractured leg and lacerations to his face and hands.

Mr Brown added: "He is a driver with 35 to 40 years' experience. He has a class one HGV licence, as well as a full PSV (passenger service vehicle] licence."

The driver had run his own coach company for 20 years, according to Mr Brown. He also said all buses were fitted with lap seat belts and passengers were told they must wear them.

However, Mr Brown added: "They don't always keep them on. They are children and they do do it (take seat belts off]."

A spokesman for South Lanarkshire Council said: "The roads had been gritted throughout the night and the traffic was moving. Forty-four people arrived at the school for the planned departure time.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Lanark and the surrounding community and, in particular, with everyone associated with the school."

In a statement, the dead girl's family said: "Natasha was a typical teenager and very popular with lots of friends and will be greatly missed by all who knew her."

A bus crash in 1994 killed two children just a few miles from yesterday's accident.

SEATBELT LAW

A NEW law for seatbelts in minibuses and coaches was introduced in 2006.

The law says that child restraints and/or seatbelts must be used if available and appropriate.

On a bus or coach, everyone aged 14 or over must wear a seatbelt if fitted.

Regulations requiring children aged three to 13 years to use seatbelts (or child restraints if available) in buses and coaches is to be brought forward as soon as possible, according to the UK government.

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Death bus 'should have been stopped' – parents