Dover schoolchildren injured in coach crash on the A20

Twelve schoolchildren have been taken to hospital with minor injuries after a coach careered on to a roundabout near Folkestone.

The accident happened at 0945 BST on the A20 off Junction 13 of the M20.

The pupils from Guston Church of England Primary School in Dover were travelling to Folkestone on a trip.

An investigation is under way into the cause of the accident but it is not thought other vehicles were involved.

Eight pupils were treated at the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford and four at the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital in Margate. Four adults were also treated in hospital.

All have since been discharged apart from one boy who is being kept in hospital for observation.

Ch Insp Geoff Wood said: "The occupants of the coach are extremely lucky.

"If the coach had rolled over we would be looking at something far more extreme in terms of injuries."

The coach, which was carrying 41 children and eight adult passengers, was travelling along the slip-road off the motorway towards Folkestone when the accident happened.

Mr Wood added: "Something has happened which means the driver has been forced to crash into the roundabout.

Headteacher Deby Allen said: "I would like to praise all the children for behaving in a calm and responsible way in these most unusual circumstances."