A FATHER and son from Bolton have described the terrifying moment when their packed tourist coach careered 180ft down a verge, killing five Britons.

Retired college lecturer Don Astley, aged 57, and his 16-year-old son Ian were thrown from the vehicle as it rolled down the slope near Salzburg in Austria.

But, as the father and son were recovering from their injuries, Mr Astley's wife Glennys is seriously ill in a hospital's intensive care unit. She was trapped inside the holiday coach and suffered spinal injuries.

The Astley family, who live in Crompton Way, Astley Bridge, had been on holiday in the area since Saturday.

Ian's friend from Canon Slade School, Richard Howard, who was on holiday with the family, is also fighting for his life. He is in a medically induced coma after sustaining a torn spleen, a ruptured liver, lung damage and facial injuries.

Ian, who suffered minor head injuries, was taken to the same hospital as his father, the Unfallkrankenhaus hospital in Salzburg, but Mrs Astley, aged 55, a Bolton magistrate, was airlifted to a hospital in Munich.

She has now regained consciousness and two of her other children, Michael and Wendy, have flown to Germany to be at her bedside.

Richard, of Walkden Road, Worsley, was flown by air ambulance to the University of Innsbruck Hospital.

His parents Melanie and Martin Howard flew out on Thursday to be by their son's side.

Ian admitted they were all lucky to have survived Tuesday's crash. Recalling the moment their coach careered off the road, he said: "I was asleep at the time and I heard a girl scream. It was really loud and it woke me up.

"The next think I knew the bus tipped over - it rolled over once and I was thrown out and then it rolled off down the hill.

"I was in a daze. I remember going down and trying to help. My mum was still trapped inside."

Mr Astley, aged, 57, a retired lecturer at Bolton Community College, suffered a broken nose and broken ribs. He said he was reading the football scores when the bus crashed.

Speaking in hospital, Mr Astley said: "I was thrown out just before it made the final turn. My wife was still trapped inside along with the others."

The group was returning from a visit to a salt mine at Berchtesgaden when tragedy struck.

Richard's grandfather Brian Evitts, of Ellenbrook Road, Worsley, said: "This is an absolute nightmare. Richard is very good friends with Ian and has been going on holiday with his family for several years.

"Richard's parents are distraught and his mum, my daughter, told me she will stay out there for as long as it takes and if that means giving up the house she is prepared to do it to stay with Richard."

Police believe a minibus overtook the coach on a blind corner and then shunted it off the road as the driver tried to avoid an oncoming car. Local emergency services said the names of the five Britons who died were not being released until DNA tests had been carried out.

The coach trip had been organised by London-based tour operators Inghams.

One air ambulance pilot described the aftermath "like a war zone".

At least 40 of the 49 people on board the coach - 42 of whom were British - were injured.

Mrs Astley, a former teacher at Bolton Community College, has been a JP in Bolton since 1995. She is also chief steward at Seymour Road Methodist Church.

Mr Astley retired in June from his post as head of Health Studies at Bolton Community College. He has been an active member of Astley Bridge Cricket Club since moving to Bolton from Cheshire 26 years ago. Just three weeks ago the couple celebrated the birth of their first grandchild, Robert.

Accountant Peter Astley of Bromley Cross, one of the couple's four children, said: "Basically, it looks like they are all going to be OK.

"My mum is conscious, she is able to nod her head and squeeze her hand and knows what is going on."

Numerous friends and colleagues of the family have come forward to wish the family a speedy recovery.

Janet Taylor, chairman of the Bolton Magistrates Bench, said: "We were devastated and shocked to hear the news."

Ron Fallows, chairman at Astley Bridge Cricket Club said: "Don is one of life's nice guys, a real gentleman. You couldn't meet a nicer person."

Neighbour Shirley Dickenson said: "They are a lovely family and behalf of everyone on the street who knows them I would like to wish them a very quick recovery."