A coach went off a main road and ended up in a field after its driver apparently blacked out at the wheel.

Keith Rickett was driving the Supreme coach to the Harwich depot when the accident happened on the A120 at Great Bromley at 6.30am yesterday.

John Bridge, managing director at Supreme, said: "He had complained of stomach pains to his wife over the weekend but felt well enough to work today.

"As he headed for Harwich, he felt unwell and saw a layby ahead so started to slow down and that was when he blacked out.

"Fortunately there was no-one else on the coach and the driver was not injured."

Mr Rickett, from Southend, phoned the depot from the field to tell staff what had happened and was taken to Colchester General Hospital where a stomach complaint was diagnosed.

Mr Bridge said: "Mr Rickett is our longest-serving driver at 26 years and has never had a day off ill and never had an accident. Fortunately he had slowed down and the coach is very strongly built and hardly damaged.

"We are extremely relieved it wasn't worse and I shall be going to see him later."

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