Four women were still in a serious condition after a mountain road coach crash at the weekend.

Thirteen women were still being treated in hospital yesterday after a Women's Institute day trip from Stakeford, near Ashington in Northumberland, ended in disaster as the coach approached Ambleside in the Lake District.

The driver, 53-year-old Fred Messenger, lost control as he drove down a narrow steep road known as The Struggle just after midday on Saturday.

The seriously injured are a 59-year-old woman at Preston Royal Infirmary; a 55-year-old at the West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven; a 68-year-old at the Furness General Hospital and a woman, who age has not been given, at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary.

Ian Cumming, chief executive of Morecambe Bay Hospitals NHS Trust, said: ''The majority of the patients are stable and comfortable.

''They are just being kept in hospital because they still need some attention to their injuries."

The Drive For Freedom Travel coach was carrying 43 passengers when it careered into a dry stone wall and plunged 20ft into a garden.