One person was killed and four seriously injured in a coach crash which left 49 people needing hospital treatment.

The coach was on its way back to Chichester from a day trip to London when the accident occurred last night just after 6pm.

It is believed the passengers were a group of Jehovah's Witnesses from the Bognor and Chichester area.

The accident occurred on the A286 between Godalming and Brook in Surrey when the coach was involved in a collision with a Land Rover.

The driver of the Land Rover was declared dead at the scene and its passenger was left seriously injured.

The injured were ferried by a fleet of 20 ambulances to Frimley Park Hospital, Camberley, and the Royal Surrey County Hospital, Guildford, with a range of minor injuries and shock.

The Royal Surrey County Hospital received 33 patients, 29 of them suffering minor injuries. Four were trauma cases and two people needed surgery.

Frimley Park Hospital received 16 patients.

Police are investigating the cause of the accident.

A spokesman for Surrey Ambulance Service said: "We offer our sympathy to the families and friends of those involved in this accident especially at this time of year."

Paul Grant, chief executive of Surrey Ambulance Service, said: "Our staff responded magnificently to this incident."