Tributes have been paid to a coach driver from the North East who died in a crash in the French Alps. The Classic Coaches vehicle was carrying ski resort staff back to the UK from Alpe d'Huez, with Newcastle being its final destination.
A North East bus driver who died in a crash in the French Alps has been hailed as a hero.
The quick thinking of 64-year-old Maurice Wrightson, a driver with County Durham firm Classic Coaches, is thought to have saved the lives of the passengers on board.
He steered his coach into a tree to stop it going over the edge of a mountain after it developed problems.
Investigators are now trying to establish exactly what went wrong.
You can watch the full report from Kenny Toal below.
"I would personally like to thank the local community for their amazing donations of food, toiletries and clothing. "
Owners John and Irene Hays say there is ''light at the end of the tunnel'', after the pandemic forced them to close 650 UK stores.
There has been resistance to calls to dismantle memorials to the explorer.