A coach driver faces being charged with the involuntary manslaughter of a Scottish teenager who died in a crash while on a school trip in France.

Mark Chisholm, 32, is under police guard in hospital following the accident in which Katherine Fish was killed and nine others were seriously injured.

Mr Chisholm had been at the wheel for an hour before the coach overturned on a sliproad to the A6 at Bierre-les-Semur, near Dijon, early on Thursday morning.

The state prosecutor, Jean-Pierre Alacchi, said the driver also faced several counts of involuntary wounding.

We were proud of all her achievements and she lit up our lives every day

Katherine Fish's parents

Mr Alacchi said he did not believe Mr Chisholm had fallen asleep at the wheel, but had swerved after "realising at the last minute" that he was on the wrong road.

Under the French legal system, a person suspected of commiting a crime has to be placed under investigation, a step that can lead to criminal charges.

The formal process of putting Mr Chisholm under investigation was being carried out on Friday.

'Just the best'

The coach, carrying a group of pupils and teachers from Largs Academy in Ayrshire, had been due to arrive in Barcelona on Thursday evening for a week-long cultural and leisure holiday.

On Friday, the parents of Katherine Fish expressed their thanks for the support they have received from the community since the accident.

In a statement read at the school by a local councillor, they said: "Katherine was just the best. Always with a smile on her face and making other people smile too.

Katherine Fish was killed in the accident

"We were proud of all her achievements and she lit up our lives every day. She loved her dancing and looked forward to achieving great things in the future."

Two teachers and 31 children, who were not badly injured in the accident , arrived at Glasgow Airport at 0245 BST on Friday.

Alasdair Herbert, assistant chief executive of North Ayrshire Council, said the children had had emotional reunions with their parents when they returned.

"It's been a traumatic experience," he said.

Safety procedure

"They are all deeply shocked by what's happened, but they're happy to be back in this country."

The vehicle, owned by Allan's Coaches of Gorebridge, Midlothian, was carrying 51 passengers, among them eight adults.

A company spokesman said the two drivers were both experienced and he was unaware of them being involved in any collisions before.

"The bus was fitted with seatbelts and all children and teachers were advised at the beginning of their journey to wear belts," he said.

"The drivers also went through a safety procedure as normal within minutes of leaving Largs Academy."

Earlier on Friday, Msr Alacchi said alcohol and drug tests on Mr Chisholm were negative.

"There has been speculation that the driver got lost. The inquiry is still at an early stage and it isn't clear what happened," he said.

Teachers' names

"What we do know is that the coach should not have been on that sliproad for the route it was taking."

The names of the injured pupils were not released, but the three teachers were named as PE teacher Alan Sturrock, 43, English teacher David Macluskey, 34, and Jeannette Gray, a 50-year-old history teacher.

Mr Macluskey lost an arm in the accident, while Mr Sturrock suffered severe injuries to his legs and Mrs Gray suffered multiple arm fractures.

Tony Cowley, the other driver on the bus

John Travers, director of education at North Ayrshire Council, said six children - five patients in hospital in Semur and a sister of one of the girls who was not injured - were due to fly home on Friday evening.

The one remaining child at Semur hospital and teacher Gillian Lusk were expected to leave on Saturday along with four patients in hospital in Dijon.

Mr Chisholm told his father Bill, a journalist with The Scotsman newspaper, that he remembered nothing about the crash.

Bill Chisholm told the newspaper: "He will be devastated by it, he sounded devastated on the phone.

"He didn't say what had happened and I got the impression that he did not know what had happened. He didn't offer any explanation."