Man killed in coach crash named

The driver of the coach was trapped in the wreckage

The driver of a Land Rover has been killed and 51 people injured in a coach crash in Surrey.

The accident happened just after 1800 GMT on Tuesday on the A286 near Milford, between Godalming and Brook.

The coach was carrying a group of Jehovah's Witnesses home from a meeting when it was involved in a crash involving a Land Rover and another vehicle.

The man killed, who was driving the Land Rover, has been named as 32-year-old Francis Oakley, of Bramley, Surrey.

His passenger, a man in his early 20s, was in a "serious, potentially critical but stable" condition in the Royal Surrey County Hospital, a police spokeswoman said.

There were a handful of children that were accompanied by adults, but fortunately all those children only had superficial injuries Dr Bea Brookes, Royal Surrey County Hospital

The coach driver was also being treated for serious injuries on Wednesday after undergoing surgery overnight.

Seven of a further 49 people taken to hospital after the accident remain there for treatment for minor injuries, while the others have been released.

An inquest into Mr Oakley's death is likely to be opened and adjourned early next week.

Rowan Roberts from Surrey Fire and Rescue Service said: "On arrival we were faced with a head-on collision between a coach carrying approximately 50 people and a Land Rover and another vehicle.

"Initial assessments were that the driver of the coach was trapped in position and the driver of the Land Rover very unfortunately appeared to be dead.

'Very tragic'

"There were a number of quite seriously injured people but the majority of people were affected by shock and minor injuries."

The coach was taking its passengers back to Chichester in West Sussex, after an afternoon tour of the presses of the Jehovah's Witnesses' magazines.

Paul Gillies, a spokesman for the group, said: "It is very tragic and very sad for the people in the other vehicle.

"But as far as our followers are concerned, we understand that only two were detained in hospital and they are not that seriously injured."

A spokesman for the coach's operator, Diamond Travel UK, based in Bognor Regis, said: "We take the safety of our passengers very seriously and we have done everything possible to help."

Surrey Ambulance Service said all the casualties, aged from eight to their mid-70s, were taken to either the Royal Surrey County Hospital or Frimley Park Hospital.

Dr Bea Brookes, from the Royal Surrey County Hospital, said: "There were a handful of children that were accompanied by adults, but fortunately all those children only had superficial injuries.

"The rest of the age groups were across the spectrum."

Surrey Ambulance Service offered sympathy to the families and friends of those involved in the crash.

Paul Grant, chief executive of the service, said: "Our staff responded magnificently to this incident and I am pleased that our plans for such events worked well."