A1M minibus crash: Football fans in hospital after incident near Pontefract

The minibus overturned following a collision on the A1M near Pontefract

Seventeen people are in hospital after a minibus carrying football supporters crashed on the A1M near Pontefract.

Police said the collision, which happened at around 19:00 BST on Saturday, involved a black Skoda Fabia and an Iris single-decker minibus.

The minibus was carrying South Shields FC fans with seven of the casualties thought to have suffered serious injuries.

The club's sporting director said it was "an absolutely horrific incident".

Lee Picton said when he first heard what had happened he felt "sick to my stomach, not knowing exactly what has happened.

"The only saving grace, touch wood, is that nobody has life-threatening injuries as far as we're aware."

Lee Picton said the club would do everything it could to make sure those involved in the incident felt "fully supported"

Mr Picton said he understood the minibus had "rolled over a number of times when it's tried to avoid colliding with another vehicle".

He said the incident had been "really traumatic" for those involved.

"We'll be doing everything we can as a club to contact those people personally to see how they are and offer our support," he added.

The South Shields fans were travelling back following a 3-2 defeat against Tamworth, in the penultimate match of the Vanarama National League North season at the Staffordshire club's Lamb Ground.

Mr Picton said from phone conversations he had made about the crash he had learnt of the "unbelievable effort other fans who weren't involved in the incident made".

"They've travelled to the crash site to offer their support and comfort to the people who have been involved," he said.

"So I just want to thank, on behalf of the club, all of those fans and others who stopped at the roadside to assist people in the accident," he added.

The collision prompted a large-scale emergency response on Saturday evening

Road closures were in place until the early hours of Sunday with emergency services including Yorkshire Air Ambulance in attendance.

Pictures show the damaged minibus on its side on the northbound carriageway between junctions 40 and 41.

Yorkshire Ambulance Service said it was "under extreme pressure" after being called to the incident.

A spokesperson said: "We responded to the incident with a wide range of resources and 17 patients were taken to hospitals in the region."

A third vehicle potentially involved in the crash has not yet been identified.

West Yorkshire Police appealed for anyone with information or footage to get in touch.