Ten British schoolboys injured when a coach crashed into a ditch in southern Germany are returning home to Britain on Tuesday.

The accident on Monday night happened as a group of 27 boys and three staff from Boston Grammar School in Lincolnshire were on their way back from a holiday in Austria.

Assistant headteacher Mike Maltby said the 10 boys, aged 11 to 19, suffered only minor injuries in the accident in the German town of Bad Windsheim.

German Police said the coach left the road and plunged into a 6.5ft ditch after the British driver hit a traffic island in the town centre just before midnight.

In a statement on Tuesday Mr Maltby said: "Ten boys received very minor injuries - cuts and bruises - and one boy was in hospital with a broken finger and a cut above one eye.

"The party will return to Britain some time this afternoon, including the boy in hospital, and will arrive home tonight."

He added that a further statement from the school could be expected later in the day.

Alternative transport

The male tour leader of the school dance troupe, aged 36, also from the Boston area, is believed to have suffered a broken ankle and concussion.

He was also kept in hospital overnight along with the co-driver.

A police spokesman said the coach had been extremely badly damaged and the group would take alternative transport back to England after spending the night in hotels and hostels in the town.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "The next of kin have been informed and we are maintaining contact with the group to offer assistance."