A COACHLOAD of football fans narrowly escaped serious injury when their coach veered off a Monmouthshire road into a ditch.

The accident happened on the southbound carriageway of the A449 near Usk just after 11.30am on Sunday.

The Liverpool fans were on their way to the Carling Cup final clash against Chelsea at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium when the coach left the road and travelled 200 yards across a field before finally coming to rest in a ditch.

Fire crews and ambulances were called but only one person received minor injuries and was treated at the scene.

Both carriageways of the southbound A449 remained open and a replacement coach was called to transport the fans to the match.

Inspector Gareth Beak, of Gwent Police control room, said: "We were very lucky, the coach remained upright and no one was seriously hurt.

"We managed to keep both carriageways open, which was especially important because of the amount of traffic travelling down to the match."

Accident investigators are still trying to determine the cause of the incident. No other vehicle was involved.