Floral tributes have been left outside Minehead Middle School, following the horror crash on Thursday afternoon.

Staff and students from the nearby Kingsmead School in Wiveliscombe had left a condolence card with a bunch of flowers.

The card said: “Our thoughts are with all the children, parents, staff and transport.”

Minehead Middle School, which caters for pupils aged between nine and 14, and is five days away from the end of term and is closed today.

The driver of a school coach which crashed near Minehead, Somerset, is in a stable condition, the bus company’s owner has said.

Ridlers Coaches director Peter Prior-Sankey said in a statement: “Everyone at Ridlers is truly devastated by yesterday’s tragic incident and our thoughts and prayers remain with the pupils, their families, and the school.

“Our thanks go to the incredible emergency service teams for their response, and to those across our local hospitals and community who have done so much for those impacted over the last 24 hours.

“I can confirm that the driver is himself in a stable condition in hospital, but with a number of injuries. We are in contact with his wife and family, and have offered ongoing support.”

He added that staff at the company are being supported and he and his team are liaising with Somerset Council.

Mr Prior-Sankey said a decision had been made not to run any school routes into Minehead today, and that ongoing discussions will be had over the coming days concerning any other affected routes or contracts.

A resident who lives near the site of a school coach crash near Minehead, Somerset, has described the incident as horrendous.

The person, who did not wish to be named, said: “The coach has gone down the slope. It’s pretty steep around here and it’s a big coach.

“There are no barriers along there or anything.

“We’re used to it, you don’t even notice it.

“I can’t believe it happened quite honestly, it’s the biggest thing I have known to go over the slope.

“It’s horrendous, and I’m just so sorry for all those kids on that coach.”

An off-duty firefighter was able to start freeing passengers immediately when it slid down a 20ft bank and flipped onto its roof.

Gavin Ellis of Devon and Somerset Fire & Rescue Service said a firefighter was travelling behind the coach when it happened.

“We were mobilised to a major incident of a coach that had overturned onto its roof and slid approximately 20ft down the embankment,” he told reporters.

“Our crews carried out a number of extrications and rescues in extremely difficult circumstances, and they also supported our ambulance colleagues with casualty treatment.

“This was a very complex and technically difficult incident for our crews to deal with, and I’m grateful for the tireless effort and actions of the crews in doing everything they could for those who were trapped and as quickly as safely as possible.

“I’m also grateful to the off-duty firefighter who was traveling behind the coach at the point of the crash who was able to start to release those casualties from the bus.”

The trust which runs the school whose pupils were on the coach that crashed near Minehead, Somerset, has said it is working closely with the emergency services.

In a statement, Beacon Education Multi-Academy Trust, which runs Minehead Middle School, said: “We are working closely with the emergency services and relevant authorities following an incident this afternoon to support our pupils, families, and staff at this very difficult time.

“We will update our school community further as soon as more information becomes available, and we kindly ask for your patience and understanding as we manage this evolving situation with care and sensitivity.”

Rachel Gilmour, MP for Tiverton and Minehead, said the fatal school coach crash in Minehead was “tragic” and she is “heartbroken for the parents and the school and the wider family”.

She told BBC Breakfast the coach was coming from Exmoor Zoo, when it came off the road and went down a 20ft slope, adding that it was “pretty catastrophic”.

Asked about the area, Ms Gilmour said: “It’s a very difficult road, very, very steep, very windy, and it’s just the nature of rural roads in my constituency, you know, Minehead famously, only has one road that takes you into it on the A39 and if you’re coming from where I live in Bampton or across the Moor, those are the roads that you have to use.”

Ms Gilmour praised the “fabulous job” the emergency services did, adding: “We’ve been told up to 20 ambulances went to the scene, three air ambulances, obviously paramedics, police, firemen, you know, just deeply grateful to our emergency services and just heartbroken for the parents and the school and the wider family.”

She said she visited Minehead Middle School recently and it is a “fantastic school” with a “great headmistress”.

The Secretary of State for Education, Bridget Phillipson, described the fatal school coach crash in Minehead as “heartbreaking.”

“It is heartbreaking to hear that a child has died and others are seriously injured following the incident in Minehead earlier today”, she said in a post on X.

“My thoughts are with their friends and families, and all those affected by this tragic event.”

– The coach was travelling back to Minehead Middle School, in Somerset on the A396 at Cutcombe Hill on Thursday at 3.15pm when the incident happened.

– There were about 60 to 70 passengers on board

– The school coach slid 20ft down a bank after it had gone off the road and flipped onto its roof on a remote road in Exmoor

-An off-duty firefighter travelling behind the coach was able to start freeing passengers immediately

– One child died in the incident and 21 people were injured

– Some were taken to hospital with serious injuries, including two children who were air lifted to hospital.

– Many on the coach were held at a rest centre in a pub in Wheddon Cross, while efforts were made to transport them back to minehead.