A PASSENGER on the National Express coach which crashed this week killing two people has today told how he is lucky to be alive.

A PASSENGER on the National Express coach that crashed this week killing two people has today told how he is lucky to be alive.

Speaking from his fiancée's Ipswich home, 43-year-old John Rigby said the scene following the accident on Wednesday evening was “utter carnage” and he can't stop crying days after the event.

Mr Rigby, who was on the double-decker coach travelling home to Cumbria following a Christmas spent in Ipswich, said he will never forget the aftermath of the terrible crash.

He said: “It just happened so quickly and all I had time to do was grab the nearest thing to me which was the seat in front.

“I was near the back on the upper deck and when the coach went over I was thrown right against the rear window.

“There was a huge bang and we ground to halt.

“Some of the injuries were absolutely horrific and I will remember them vividly for the rest of my days.

“I was really lucky to just have a few cuts and scratches.”

Mr Rigby, a former soldier who now runs a computer business in Cumbria, used some of his first aid knowledge to help people with serious injuries.

However even his years of service in the army did not prepare him for some of the gruesome wounds sustained in the accident.

He said: “It was horrific. One woman had gashes on her face and you could see her cheekbone.

“Another woman had a hole in her stomach that was a good four or five inches wide.

“I have never seen anything like it. I can't stop crying.”

Mr Rigby was taken to Hillingdon Hospital for treatment but is now back at his fiancée Nikki Windsor's home in Aynesbourne Crescent, Ravenswood.

Ms Windsor, 35, said she received a call from Mr Rigby at around 11.50pm on Wednesday night to say he had been in an accident but had been unable to speak to him at length because his phone battery ran out.

She said: “I was awake all night worrying. It was really scary because I had no contact with him.

“I didn't know if he was dead or alive. I'm just glad he is OK.”

The 40-year-old driver of the coach was arrested following the crash on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and was released on police bail yesterday.