One child has died after a coach bringing children back from a school trip crashed and overturned near Minehead, Somerset, police have said.

A major incident was declared after the vehicle, which had 60-70 people on board, crashed on the A396 Cutcombe Hill, between Wheddon Cross and Timbercombe, shortly before 3pm on Thursday afternoon.

The coach was heading to Minehead Middle School at the time.

At a news conference on Thursday night, officials confirmed one child died at the scene.

A further 21 patients were taken to hospital, including two children who were transported via air ambulance. “Several” other people were treated at the scene, they added.

“This has been an incredibly challenging scene for all emergency services,” Chief Superintendent Mark Edgington said.

“Today’s events are truly tragic, we know the whole community and wider area will be utterly devastated to learn of this news.”

An investigation into what caused the crash will be carried out, he added.

Gavin Ellis, the chief fire officer for Devon and Somerset Fire & Rescue Service, said the coach “overturned onto its roof and slid approximately 20ft down an embankment”.

He praised an off-duty firefighter who was travelling behind the vehicle for helping at the scene, before crews then arrived to carry out rescues “in extremely difficult circumstances”.

“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,” he said.

“I’m extremely proud of the efforts that my firefighters took today at this tragic event.”

Eight fire engines were sent to the scene, with two specialist rescue appliances and around 60 fire personnel, Mr Ellis said.

A total of 20 double-crewed ambulances, three air ambulances and two hazardous area response teams were also sent to the scene, a representative for the South Western Ambulance Service said.

Ch Supt Mark Edgington said: “Many passengers either sustained minor injuries or were physically unharmed and were transferred to a rest centre.

“Work to help them return to Minehead has been taking place throughout the evening.

“An investigation into the cause of this incident will be carried out.”

Minehead Middle School has pupils aged between nine and 14, and is five days away from the end of term.

‘I don’t have words,’ says local MP

Rachel Gilmour, MP for Tiverton and Minehead, has said the road where the coach crashed is “very difficult to manoeuvre”.

Speaking to Sky News chief presenter Anna Botting, Ms Gilmour said she visited Minehead Middle School recently, where she “met the children and they were full of joy, enthusiasm and were very positive”.

“I know many of their parents,” she said. “I don’t have words.”

Describing the scene, Gilmour continued: “You have a very difficult crossing at Wheddon Cross, and as you come out to dip down into Timbercombe, the road is really windy and there are very steep dips on either side.

“If the coach, as the police are saying, went 20ft off the road, you are literally on a really, really steep bank.”

The MP, whose constituency is partly in Devon and partly in Somerset, said there is a “really, really close community”.

“We will pull together, but it would be crass of me to say to a parent who’s just lost their child that I could make things better, I can’t,” she said.

“All I can say is that from one mother to another, I feel your pain.”

Sir Keir Starmer said in a post on X: “There are no adequate words to acknowledge the death of a child. All my thoughts are with their parents, family and friends, and all those affected.

“Thank you to the emergency workers who are responding at pace – I’m being kept up to date on this situation.”

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson wrote: “It is heartbreaking to hear that a child has died and others are seriously injured following the incident in Minehead earlier today.

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

Sixteen and 17 year olds will be able to vote in all UK elections in the biggest reform to the electoral system since 1969.

The government said it will give young people the right to vote in the next general election, something Labour promised in its manifesto last summer.

They can already vote in Senedd elections in Wales and Holyrood elections in Scotland, but this will mean all 16 and 17 year olds across all four UK nations can vote in local, regional and general elections.

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Up to 9.5 million more people will now be able to vote, the IPPR thinktank said. The latest figures show 48,208,507 people are registered to vote.

The last time the voting age was changed was in 1969 when it was reduced from 21 to 18.

The government has said the change will “boost democratic engagement in a changing world, and help to restore trust in UK democracy”.

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said: “For too long public trust in our democracy has been damaged and faith in our institutions has been allowed to decline.       

“We are taking action to break down barriers to participation that will ensure more people have the opportunity to engage in UK democracy, supporting our Plan for Change, and delivering on our manifesto commitment to give 16 year olds the right to vote.   

“We cannot take our democracy for granted, and by protecting our elections from abuse and boosting participation we will strengthen the foundations of our society for the future.”

Majority of Britons do not want to give young people a vote

A YouGov poll of 5,538 adults held in the hours after Thursday’s announcement found 57% of Britons think 16 and 17 year olds should not be allowed to vote, while a third (32%) say they should.

Anthony Wells, head of European political and social research at YouGov, said due to “raw numbers”, 16 and 17 year olds “probably won’t have much impact” as they only make up about 2.8% of the 16+ population.

If their turnout rate is similar to other young people, they will also be a “substantially lower proportion of the actual electorate”, he added.

They tend to vote more heavily for Labour and the Greens – less for the Tories – however, he added this could change if Labour is unpopular by the next election.

No consultation

Conservative shadow communities minister Paul Holmes accused Labour of having “rushed” the announcement out “in an attempt to avoid parliamentary scrutiny and without consultation”, calling it a “confusing message to young people”.

He said it is a “brazen attempt” by a party whose “unpopularity is scaring them into making major constitutional changes without consultation”.

The Tory added: “16-year-olds will be able to vote in an election but not stand as candidates, and they will be able to vote but not permitted to buy a lottery ticket, consume alcohol, marry, or go to war.

“This is a hopelessly confusing policy from Labour, who appear uncertain themselves about what they want young people to be allowed to do.”

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Bank cards allowed as voter ID

As part of the strategy, voter ID will also be extended to include UK-issued bank cards.

Mr Holmes raised concerns using bank cards for ID will “undermine the security of the ballot box”.

When other IDs that are already accepted, such as the veteran card and UK driving licences, become digitised, they will also be accepted in that form.

A digital Voter Authority Certificate will also be created to ensure electoral registration officers, who maintain registers of electors and absent voters, will be able to accept digital forms of ID.

Close loopholes for foreign donors

In an effort to boost transparency and accountability in politics, the government said it will close loopholes allowing foreign donors via “shell companies” to influence UK political parties.

New requirements will be introduced so unincorporated associations will have to carry out checks on donations over £500 to tackle foreign interference.

The Electoral Commission will also be given new powers to enforce heavier fines of up to £500,000 on those who breach political finance rules, and enable tougher sentences for those who abuse election campaigners.

The final member of the Stockwell Six – who were falsely accused of robbing a police officer on the London Underground in 1972 – has been cleared more than 50 years after his wrongful conviction.

Ronald De’Souza was one of six young black men who were accused of trying to rob British Transport Police officer Sergeant Derek Ridgewell during a night out on 18 February 1972.

Mr De’Souza has been cleared on the same day another man, Errol Campbell, who was investigated by Ridgewell in 1977 also had his conviction quashed after he was wrongly accused of stealing from the depot where he worked.

Ridgewell was a corrupt police officer who was jailed after he was involved in a number of high-profile and controversial cases in the early 1970s.

What happened to the Stockwell Six?

De’Souza and five other men – Texo Johnson, Courtney Harriot, Paul Green, Cleveland Davidson and Everett Mullins – were arrested on the Tube network while travelling from Stockwell station in south London.

They all pleaded not guilty and told jurors police officers had lied and subjected them to violence and threats.

However, five of them, including De’Souza were found guilty and jailed.

Johnson, Harriot, Green and Davidson were all acquitted in 2021.

The sixth member, Mullins, was acquitted at the time because it was proved his reading ability was not good enough for him to have fully understood his signed statement which was written for him by Ridgewell.

Campbell’s conviction quashed

In a separate case, Campbell, who died in 2004, was sentenced to 18 months in prison after he was convicted of conspiracy to steal and theft from the Bricklayers Arms Goods Depot in south London where he was working for British Rail in April 1977.

Giving his judgement at the Court of Appeal after Mr Campbell was cleared on Thursday, Lord Justice Holroyde, sitting with Mr Justice Butcher and Mr Justice Wall, said it was with “regret” that the court could not undo Mr Campbell’s suffering.

He added: “We can however, and do, allow the appeal brought on his behalf, and quash his conviction.

“We hope that will at least bring some comfort to Mr Campbell’s family who survive.”

Campbell ‘became an alcoholic’

In a statement read out by his solicitor, Mr Campbell’s son Errol Campbell Jr said: “The British Transport Police knew that Detective Sergeant Derek Ridgewell was corrupt, and they let him carry on regardless with what he was doing.

“My dad always said he was innocent, and today, that’s finally been confirmed, almost 50 years later.

“He came to England in the Windrush generation and worked for years for British Rail. The conviction caused absolute misery to my dad and our family.

“Due to the shame and disgrace of this conviction, he found it difficult to get employment, so much so that he fled the country.

“On his return, he became an alcoholic and couldn’t hold down a lollipop man’s job.

“I’m angry that Ridgewell is not alive for this day and that he never went to prison for all the people he fitted up. He never answered for his crimes.

“I am Errol Campbell’s first son. I look like him. Before this, he was a great family man and looked after us as children, and he was dapper. He was a good man.”

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Matt Foot, Mr Campbell Jr’s solicitor, said separately: “Fifty years ago, it was no secret that Detective Sergeant Derek Ridgewell was racist and corrupt.

“There was a calypso song about him in south London. There was a BBC documentary made about him, nationwide. Millions of people saw that documentary, about him fitting up 16 young black men.

“What did the British Transport Police do? They took Derek Ridgewell into the headquarters. They harboured him, and then they put him back out to commit the misery that you have heard today, the misery that was inflicted on the British Rail workers at the Bricklayers Arms depot.”

When asked about what steps he wished to see the BTP take, Mr Foot said: “Well, first of all, they need to state who was responsible for harbouring Derek Ridgewell in 1973, 74, 75, and then putting him out on duty.

“What is happening about those officers? Have they been held to account? This, also to say, is not going to be the last case relating to Derek Ridgewell… what are the BTP doing about finding those people and resolving those cases?”

Mr Foot is now calling for a change in the law that so when a police officer is jailed, there is an automatic review of their cases to look for miscarriages of justice.

The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) has said today’s decisions mean 13 people from cases involving Ridgewell have now had their convictions overturned.

Mr Campbell had unsuccessfully appealed his conviction in 1978.

His son submitted an application to the CCRC in September 2024, with the help of the charity APPEAL.

Following a review, the CCRC found there was a real possibility Mr Campbell’s conviction would be quashed, and it referred the conviction in February 2025.

In August 2023, the CCRC referred the convictions of Mr Campbell’s co-defendants, Saliah Mehmet and Basil Peterkin, to the Court of Appeal after it tracked down their family members.

The convictions were both quashed in January 2024.

Ridgewell led the case against Mr Campbell and several others, but along with colleagues DC Douglas Ellis and DC Alan Keeling, later pleaded guilty to stealing from the same Bricklayers’ Arms Depot.

Ridgewell died in prison of a heart attack aged 37 in 1982 before he had completed his sentence.

In a previous judgment, the court found their criminal activities between January 1977 and April 1978 resulted in the loss from the depot of goods to the value of about £364,000, “an enormous sum of money at that time”.