A group of British Scouts who were on a coach which smashed head-on into a lorry while visiting Canada had a "lucky escape".

The Lancashire-based group was travelling towards Toronto, Canada, when their coach and a lorry collided.

Simon Carter, spokesman for The Scout Association, said ten girls and boys aged between 14 and 18 were taken to hospital suffering from minor injuries such as cuts and bruises, whiplash and shock.

He added: "One young person suffering from shock remains in hospital but her injuries are not life-threatening. She is under observation."

He said: "I think they had a lucky escape. One of the coaches was involved in a crash with what appears to be an articulated lorry. Some young people sustained injuries. Fortunately none of them are life-threatening - they are cases of broken bones and shock."

He said the injured passengers were part of a group of 102 Scouts and leaders from west Lancashire who had been on the trip.

"They were travelling back to Toronto in two coaches - they were about 150 miles away," Mr Carter said, adding: "The emergency services were on the scene exceptionally quickly.

"We have a team of people in the UK speaking to parents and letting them know the majority of the group is OK."

The group travelled to Canada on July 28 and had been to two camps in the country and were due to fly back to the UK on Monday.

Peter Sturgess, principal officer for West Lancashire Scouts, said his wife Kate and son Tom were aboard the coach.

"My son is fine, he bumped his head falling off his seat," he said. "His injury is indicative of the rest of them. Bumps and bruises.

"There is one young girl more serious than others, but we know they are in safe hands."

Mark Boileau, Constable and media relations officer for Ontario Provincial Police, said: "It appears that the tractor-trailer collided with the bus.

"They were both pushed on to one side of the road and the bus then partially flipped over and ended up in a ditch.

"It was lucky really because it happened only 200 metres from a community centre - a lot more people could have been hurt."

© Independent Television News Limited 2008. All rights reserved.