15 are taken to hospital after fans’ bus crashes
clubs and supporters have put their rivalries aside after South Shields fans were involved in a minibus crash on their journey home from Tamworth on Saturday night.
Fifteen people were taken to hospital when a minibus overturned on the A1 near Darrington in West Yorkshire. Though the Yorkshire Ambulance Service declared a major incident and the road was closed for hours, no fatalities were reported.
Fans were travelling back after a 3-2 defeat to already-crowned champions Tamworth in the Vanarama National League North. Two other vehicles were involved in the collision.
South Shields FC shared a statement on its social media channels on Saturday night which read: “Our thoughts go out to the supporters involved in a crash on the way home from today’s game.
At this moment of time we have no further details, however we hope everyone is safe and recovering.”
Other non-league clubs were quick to offer messages of support, with Saturday’s opponents
Tamworth posting on X, formerly known as Twitter: “We are so sorry to hear about the accident.
Our sincere thoughts are with everyone involved and trust everybody makes a full recovery.”
Tamworth FC Supporters Club also posted on Facebook on Saturday night: “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the South Shields fans this evening that have been involved in a road accident this evening on their way home.”
Several other clubs from the
National League South also posted their good wishes.
■ Five people were injured after a collision on the A1 near Chester-le-Street on Saturday afternoon.
The road was closed in both directions.
The crash, which happened at junction 63 near Chester-leStreet, saw police, ambulance and fire services all in attendance.
The accident happened at 4.25pm and initially all traffic was held in both directions. It was later confirmed the road was closed in both directions. It reopened at 7pm.
A spokesperson from the North East Ambulance Service said: “We were called to reports of a road traffic collision on the A1 around the Chester-le-Street area at 4.25pm this afternoon.
“We dispatched two ambulance crews and a clinical team leader, who assessed five patients on scene. Two patients have been taken to hospital by ambulance and three patients have made their own way to hospital.”
A tweet from Highways England warned of long delays in the wake of the accident, with traffic being diverted via the exit sliproads northbound and southbound at junction 63.