Family recalls coach crash horror

Mr Astley's wife suffered spinal injuries in the crash

A father and son have been describing the horrifying moment when their holiday coach careered nearly 100 ft down an embankment in Austria.

Don Astley, 57, and his son Ian, from Bolton, Greater Manchester, were thrown from the coach in the crash on Tuesday.

Mr Astley's wife, Glenys, suffered spinal injuries and was trapped in the wreckage of the crash, near Salzburg, which left five dead.

Ian, 16, said: "The bus tipped over - it rolled once and I was thrown out."

The three of them were initially treated in different hospitals, before Ian was transferred to the same Salzburg hospital Mr Astley is in.

I was in a daze afterwards. I remember going down and trying to help Ian Astley

On Wednesday, Mrs Astley was being treated at a hospital across the border in Germany.

Ian - who sustained head injuries - said that after being thrown clear, the coach "rolled off down the hill".

"I was in a daze afterwards," he said. "I remember going down and trying to help.

"My mum was still trapped inside."

The coach left the road and rolled three times down a bank

As he arrived at the hospital in Salzburg on Wednesday, Ian was still wearing the England football shirt - covered in mud and grass stains - he had on when the crash happened.

"Maybe the shirt brought me luck but I don't think my mum's going to find it easy to clean," he added.

Mr Astley, whose legs were bandaged as he lay in the hospital bed, said he was thrown out just before the coach made its last turn.

The retired lecturer said he and the family had been on holiday in the area since the weekend.