Three people died and four were fighting for their lives last night after a school bus was involved in a pile-up with a car and a minibus in Cumbria, UK.

Among the dead was the driver of a grey Honda Civic, which is understood to have hit the coach carrying around 30 children.

Thirty-five others were injured in the accident, which happened just before 3.47 p.m. on the A66 near Keswick in Cumbria, police said.

The bus was on a daily run carrying children from Keswick High School to their homes in Cockermouth, around 13 miles away.

Barry Pickthall, who runs coach firm JB Pickthall, said the 49-seater involved was from his company and had around 30 pupils on board.

Brian Lewis, who lives near the scene of the crash, said the school bus had swerved to avoid a car before the collision.

He said: "It's a right mess, there are ambulances everywhere, it's a chaotic scene. The site of the actual crash is in a hollow so you can't see a huge amount from the fields nearby. It seems the bus was swerving to miss a car and another vehicle has crashed into it. Both have toppled over. We've heard that three have died, about five are seriously injured and at least two dozen have injuries. It was a big, big crash, a big mix-up."

The A66 was closed while emergency services dealt with the scene.

Serious casualties were being airlifted to Middlesbrough, Newcastle and Preston A&E.

A spokeswoman for North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust said the majority of those injured in the crash were being treated at Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle and West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven.