TWELVE schoolchildren narrowly escaped seriousl injury when the minibus they were travelling in overturned near Cross Ash School on Tuesday morning.

None of the children were seriously injured but one child was taken to hospital as a precaution after suffering an arm injury

A spokesperson from Gwent Police said they received a call from the Ambulance Service reporting a one vehicle road traffic collision involving a school minibus at around 8.50 on Tuesday morning.

A number of emergency vehicles including one rapid response unit, two ambulances, one senior paramedic officer and a BASICS doctor raced to the scene of the accident which occurred near a sharp bend at Groesonen Road in Cross Ash

Three fire engines also attended but only one was needed and the road was closed for several hours while the vehicle was recovered.

A spokesman for Monmouthshire County Council said on Tuesday, "We are very concerned that a bus service contracted by Monmouthshire County Council to take children to Cross Ash Primary School was involved in an accident this morning. We're relieved that there were no serious injuries and our first thoughts are with the children and their families as they recover from this incident.

"We have launched a full investigation into both the circumstances of the accident and as to whether any lessons can be learned. We will report on this in due course. In the meantime, it would be inappropriate to comment or speculate further into the incident."

Pat Harris of BUSK (Belt Up School Kids) said in view of the fact that the children had escaped serious injury it was likely they had all been wearing their seat belts.

Mrs Harris last year visited all schools in Monmouthshire as part of a National Assembly £3million initiative which saw Monmouthshire as the lead authority in a project carried out by the county as well as the Vale of Glamorgan council.

Mrs Harris said, "Their remit was to go into all schools and ensure the children and young people understood the importance of wearing seat belts when travelling by road in any mode of transport where seat belts are provided.

"The project also included teaching them the dangers of airbags when not wearing a seat belt. Other topics discussed with the children were booster seats for cars and driver distraction. A lot of the staff at the schools also felt they had learned something."

A 59-year-old local man has been arrested on suspicion of driving while being unfit through drink/drugs and driving without due care and attention and was released on police bail on Wednesday, pending further inquiries.