Walsall's deputy mayoress aboard crashed school coach

Walsall's deputy mayoress - 15-year-old Abigail Pitt - was among a group of children aboard a school coach that crashed on a trip to France.

The teenager, daughter of Councillor Melvin Pitt, was one of 40 pupils from Pool Hayes Community School who were en route to the Alps when their coach hit a barrier and rolled over.

Mr Pitt received a call from his daughter to say she was alright.

He said: "We were called very early and she told us what happened. She was asleep at the time. She heard a shout and the glass came in. The children on one side of the coach were covered in glass and debris.

"There was a teacher on the coach who could use his phone to make international calls and that's how people knew.

"She received some medical attention. It was purely a precaution."

Abigail was sworn in as deputy mayoress at a ceremony earlier in the year, in a move to give young people more of a voice on the council.

Walsall's Mayor, Barbara McCracken, said: "I am relieved that reports suggest that there have been no serious injuries and I hope that all the pupils involve swiftly recover from this incident."

Pool Hayes deputy head Andy Lawrence said some of the pupils had suffered cuts and bruises but no-one had required hospital treatment.

Mr Lawrence said: "One of the coaches on the trip hit a barrier south of Champagne shortly after 5am this morning. There's been damage to the coach but none of the children are particularly hurt."

Copyright Press Association 2006