Up to 50 hurt in crash on M62 near Eccles Published duration 20 June 2011

image caption Thirty ambulances were called to the scene

Up to 50 people, including children, have suffered minor injuries in a motorway crash in Greater Manchester.

Five vehicles, including two coaches, collided on the eastbound carriageway of the M62 motorway, near junction 12 at Eccles, at about 1510 BST.

The coaches were carrying primary school children from Bolton back from a trip to a Shropshire activity centre.

The children suffered minor injuries, including whiplash, and one driver suffered a suspected broken leg.

The youngsters are pupils at Masefield Primary School, in Little Lever, and Blackshaw Primary School, in Breightmet.

Support offered

The North West Ambulance Service said 30 ambulances had been sent to the scene.

Eighteen children were taken to Salford Royal Hospital and another five to Manchester Children's Hospital.

They were suffering from whiplash and other minor injuries, a spokeswoman said.

The remaining children were treated at the scene and went home, she added.

A spokeswoman for Bolton Council said the local authority's health and safety department had been informed of the incident as a matter of course and would be making inquiries with both schools.

She added: "The council will be working with the schools to offer support to pupils and their families."