HOSPITAL staff have been praised for their reaction to a fatal bus crash.

Some of those injured during the incident in Alton on August 18 were taken to the University Hospital of North Staffordshire for treatment.

The hospital launched its emergency response procedure following the crash.

Chief executive Julia Bridgewater said: "Overall we were really pleased with the response from the hospital and the community and the way that we handled and managed the casualties that came here."

Trust vice-chairman Keith Norton added: "You can plan for emergencies, but it is when they happen that you find out and our planning was super."

The coach was carrying 71 migrant workers on a day trip to Alton Towers from a farm in Peterborough.

Piotr Wolksi, who came from the village of Labunie in eastern Poland, was re-patriated following the opening of the inquest into his death last Friday and his funeral took place in Poland on Thursday.

Four people – a man and three women – remain in hospital. The coach driver's condition is still described as critical but stable, while the women are all improving.

A detailed examination of the coach by Staffordshire Police's Collision Investigation Unit, VOSA, and other specialists, is ongoing and will continue into next week.