A VAN driver has been charged with drink driving after four race-goers were injured in a motorway accident.

David Jones, of St Marys Street,Walton-le-Dale, was charged with the offence after an accident on the M6 left four race-goers injured.

The four day trippers were travelling in a mini-bus when their bus plunged down an embankment as they returned from a day at the races shortly after 10pm on Friday.

Police said they have charged 37-year-old Jones, the driver of the van, with drink driving.

They said that the transit van collided with the rear of a fully occupied mini-bus on the M6 travelling back to Barnoldswick, near junction 29 at Bamber Bridge.

The impact of the collision caused the bus driver to lose control, and the coach left the carriageway before landing on its side and sliding backwards, down the banking, just missing a concrete gantry.

One man was rescued from the vehicle by firefighters, and four people were taken to Royal Blackburn, Royal Preston and Chorley Hospitals, where they were treated for minor injuries. The rest of the passengers were left shaken but unharmed.

They had been returning to Barnoldswick after a day at Haydock races in a mini-bus rented from B & J Travel of Barnoldswick.