Searle and Ormerod Coach Company

The Searle and Ormerod Coach Company were a travel business that operated in Weatherfield in the late 1960s. They were booked by Emily Nugent when she organised a trip to the Lake District for the residents of Coronation Street in October 1969 and all seemed well for an enjoyable day out until co-owner Terry Ormerod realised that driver Reg Ellis had taken coach 48 out instead of 172 and that the coach on the road had a faulty steering mechanism that could go at any moment. After confirming with Mick the mechanic that their worst fears about the state of the coach were true, Ormerod and his colleague George Searle contacted the police who scoured the national park for the coach. Just before the police caught up with the vehicle, the steering went as predicted and the coach crashed off the road, badly injuring several of its passengers and killing Reg Ellis.

Two months later, the company admitted liability meaning that the injured individuals could claim insurance compensation.