The Isle of Wight fire service has said it has learned useful lessons from a major coach crash at Ventnor last month.

Chief fire officer Richard Hards is to give a full report on the handling of the incident to councillors next Monday.

A group of 29 coach passengers and their driver had a miraculous escape on May 28 after their 12.5-tonne vehicle was left hanging precariously over a 15ft drop in Ocean View Road.

In a report to the council's fire and public safety sub-committee, Mr Hards said: "This incident had the potential for resulting in a large number of casualties and fortunately this was not the case.

"Nevertheless, it provided an opportunity for all the emergency services to test their plans for dealing with such occurrences and any learning points gained will enable these plans to be fine-tuned for the future."

The Seaview Services coach had missed a turn and crashed through a garden fence and gate, with almost one-third of its length projecting out over the drop.

The passengers and driver managed to escape through an emergency door at the rear of the coach, as the vehicle teetered on the brink.

Emergency services rushed to the scene in Ocean View Road and stabilised the coach, before moving it with a crane.

Mr Hards said emergency services had included four fire service appliances, three paramedic ambulances and police officers.

The fire service had secured the vehicle and evacuated nearby properties. Fortunately, Jill Wheeler, 61, whose garden the coach had burst into, had been out shopping at the time.

Mr Hards said council emergency planning staff had also swept into action, making provisions for an emergency centre for evacuees.

The fire service had stood by during the three-hour recovery of the coach by crane.