Dibbles Bridge coach crash 40th anniversary marked

The coach plunged 16ft off Dibbles Bridge and landed on its roof in a garden killing 33 women

A memorial service has been held to remember 33 people killed in one of Britain's worst ever coach crashes.

The vehicle plunged 16ft (5m) off a bridge in North Yorkshire, landing in a garden and crushing most passengers, on 27 May 1975.

Only 13 people survived the crash off Dibbles Bridge, which happened after the brakes on the coach failed.

The service was held at 18:30 BST on Wednesday at St Paul's Church, Thornaby, where 25 victims came from.

'Complete silence'

The dead included Dorothy White, 62, who had organised the Yorkshire Dales visit.

About 150 people gathered for the memorial service at St Paul's Church, Thornaby

A plaque in honour of the victims was unveiled at Thornaby pavilion the year after the crash

She had been running trips - known as "Auntie Dorrie's mystery trips" - for 30 years.

Ex-barrister Lincoln Seligman, aged 25 at the time, was staying in the cottage whose garden the coach crashed into.

Now a painter and sculptor, Mr Seligman, 65, recalled the silence after crash.

Only 13 passengers survived the crash in the Yorkshire Dales

He said: "We were having a barbecue and heard the coach coming down the hill - it was going too fast and didn't brake. It went over the bridge and landed on its roof and then there was complete silence - the only noise was the ticking of the engine then a few cries from inside the coach."

Lincoln Seligman - one of the first on the scene - said he suspended belief to try to help victims

"It took a long time for ambulances to come - but a lot of people were already dead.

"We suspended reaction and were quite practical - it was much easier to be helpful when ambulances turned up.

"At the time I hadn't seen death, but to then see 20 or 30 scattered people on the grass after they had been pulled out was pretty shocking."

The coach crashed into the bridge wall and landed on its roof trapping most of its passengers

Councillor Tina Large, deputy mayor of Thornaby, was a teenager at the time and said the crash had a "big impact" on her family.

She said: "My aunty lost her mam - it was devastating. "

A spokeswoman for Thornaby Town Council, which organised the memorial service, said the tragedy led to new safety laws to improve coach brakes being introduced by the government.