Two women have been killed in a coach crash on an icy road and dozens of air passengers escaped injury when their jet slid off a runway as Britain continued to be gripped by freezing wintry weather.
Forty-seven people were left injured when the coach ended up on its side near Penzance in Cornwall as it carried passengers back from a trip to see a Christmas lights attraction on Tuesday night.
Irene Spencer, 78, and Patricia Pryor, 70, both from Camborne, were killed in the crash.
But the coach driver was hailed by witnesses for doing "fantastically" well to avoid a greater tragedy.
Jane Moore, who helped walking wounded passengers in the aftermath, said the bus driver managed to steer the vehicle between two trees as it slid on "sheet ice".
The first Devon and Cornwall Police car on the scene of the crash also lost control amid the freezing conditions and crashed into the coach's undercarriage while passengers were still inside, onlookers said. Other emergency services also struggled to get to the scene because of the weather.
Elsewhere on Wednesday morning as the freezing temperatures continued, a Ryanair jet from Dublin ended up on grass at Glasgow Prestwick airport after slipping on ice. It came to a halt just 30 yards from the perimeter fence and the busy A79 dual carriageway.
None of the 129 people on board the Boeing 737-800 were injured and the plane was not damaged.
Passenger Philip O'Reilly, 50, said: "We landed on the tarmac, the plane was moving very fast and I realised it wasn't going to stop in time. The pilot, as far as I know, reversed the thrusters and either steered off the runway or accidentally came off. All I can say is it was very skilful - he did a great job."
