A 15-year-old boy from Edinburgh has been killed and 11 other people injured in a road accident in France involving a coach from Scotland.

The bus, belonging to Rennies of Dunfermline, overturned on the A71 motorway at Vierzon, near Bourges, in central France at 0420 GMT.

Police said the accident occurred when one of the two drivers fell asleep. No other vehicles were involved.

The boy who died, Craig Norsworthy, was a member of the 41st Edinburgh Boys Brigade, who had been heading for an adventure holiday in the Dordogne with pupils from a school in Essex.

Craig Norsworthy: Trapped in bus

He was trapped between a seat and a bulkhead at the rear of the coach, rescue services said. At least 11 others were injured, four seriously.

Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott said: "Our thoughts and sympathy are with the families of the children and teachers involved in this terrible accident."

He has offered the French authorities help with an inquiry into the cause of the accident.

The party had travelled through the night after leaving Edinburgh at 1830 GMT Sunday and was on its way to the holiday village of Chartrier-Ferriere in the central French region of Correze.

Tipped over

It was travelling within the speed limit when it left the carriageway without braking and tipped onto its side, one hour after a change of driver.

Alan Meikle, the company's acting captain, was on the bus. He told BBC News 24 that everyone was asleep when the accident happened.

Speaking from the gymnasium of a nearby school, he said: "When we landed in the ditch, everybody was woken on impact.

Alan Meikle: "Everyone was asleep"

"I can't thank the emergency services and the people here enough. They've been superb."

He said he had broken the news of the death to the the rest of the boys, who had "grown up a lot in the last three hours".

The company captain, George Sim, was being operated on for a suspected broken leg. Apart from the fatality, the other injuries mostly involved cuts and bruises.

Rennies general manager Gordon Menzies, said the Volvo coach had been hired by the Herefordshire-based children's activity holiday company PGL.

There were 21 children and six adults from the Edinburgh company along with a party of 19 youngsters and two adults from Chadwell Heath High School in Romford, Essex. All the youngsters were aged between 11 and 18.

Head's sadness

Mr Menzies added: "The company is devastated. This is the first time anything like this has ever happened here.

"Our hearts go out to the child's parents."

The coach, registered in 1995, was fully fitted with seatbelts but the company policy is not to insist that passengers wear them.

Keith Wilkinson speaks to reporters

Rennies said the drivers would have been doing three to four-hour stints behind the wheel.

Chadwell Heath headteacher Keith Wilkinson told BBC News Online: "I was telephoned by a member of the coach company shortly before 0600, telling me of the crash.

"Soon afterwards I heard from a member of our staff who was on the coach."

One male pupil had a neck injury which was more serious than first thought. A girl was undergoing surgery to remove glass from her face.

A spokesman for the Gendarmerie d'Autoroutes in Vierzon: "One of the drivers fell asleep and the coach overturned and crashed into a ditch."

Company 'devastated'

A spokeswoman for adventure holiday company PGL said the firm organised thousands of school adventure trips every year, and the company was "devastated" to learn of the crash.

The children involved were bound for a specialist outdoor activity centre where they were to take part in activities like mountain biking, kayaking, archery, and sailing, she added.

Responding to reports that the driver of the coach was at fault for the crash, she said PGL followed stringent procedures to check the suitability of the transport companies it used.

Hameau les Ages, where the coach was headed

"We interview and assess all the coach companies that we use to ensure that they meet our health and safety requirements.

"These include such things as the state of the coach - it also takes a certain type of driver to deal with children."

Will Farrell, session clerk at Duddingston Kirk in Edinburgh, home to the boys brigade company, said: "We are still trying to discover who, what where, and so on.

"Everybody is tremendously shocked and we are trying to get information at the moment."

The Foreign Office has issued an emergency number for anyone wanting information about those on the coach. The number is 0207 839 1010.