More than 40 people have been injured, four of them seriously, when two buses came off the road in icy conditions in Gloucestershire.

A coach, which was believed to be carrying 30 Army personnel, left the A40 at Puesdown, south east of Cheltenham and crashed into a tree.

A spokesman for Great Western Ambulance Service (GWAS) said three people were in a critical condition and the rest suffered various less severe injuries. The injured were taken to Cheltenham General Hospital.

It is understood the military personnel were travelling to RAF Brize Norton, to be flown to Afghanistan.

The Ministry of Defence said it was hoping to provide further details later.

A minibus with 14 people on board crashed at Highnam, near the A40 to the west of Gloucester.

The spokesman said 12 people - one with serious injuries and 11 "walking wounded" - were taken to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital.

The spokesman said: "Clearly these are both very serious incidents with multiple patients injured. Occurring within a few miles of each other, it has resulted in us dispatching considerable resources.

"Crews from ambulance stations across Gloucestershire have responded, while we have also dispatched crews from our Avon sector.

"Reports from our control room say that the roads in the area are treacherously icy, which could well have contributed to both these incidents."