A COACH rolled down a steep 15 foot embankment in the car park of a Burnley hotel in the middle of the night.

An investigation has been launched into the incident after National Express said they believed somebody had broken in to the vehicle during the night and released the handbrake.

The driver of the coach was staying at the Holiday Inn Express, in Pendle Way, after completing the company’s Southsea to Burnley route at around 9pm.

Shortly after 2am the police were called to the hotel after the coach rolled down a steep embankment at the side of the car park.

A spokesman for National Express said: “Following an examination of our vehicle, we believe it was accessed during the night while parked in the hotel carpark, by someone other than our driver and that this individual released the handbrake.

“We have contacted the police to help us further in this investigation and have requested the relevant CCTV from the hotel.”

Kerian Barnes, general manager at the Holiday Inn Express, in Burnley, said: “We are aware of an incident involving a coach rolling into a grass verge.

“We're looking closely at CCTV footage both from the bus and our hotel to establish what happened and are working closely with the police on the matter.”

A police spokesman said they were called to the scene at around 2.50am and were investigating the incident.