The operator of Alton Towers has admitted breaching health and safety laws over the Smiler rollercoaster crash.

Two female passengers on the ride underwent leg amputations following the crash in June last year, while three other people were seriously injured after their carriage collided with a stationary carriage on the same track.

Merlin Attractions Operations Ltd indicated a guilty plea to a charge of breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act at a court hearing on Friday morning.

Several victims of the crash, including Joe Pugh and Leah Washington, were at court in Staffordshire for the hearing.

The prosecution said the victims of the crash suffered "indescribable pain" and had "their lives turned upside down".

The prosecution said the rollercoaster ran "in a way that was not as safe as it should have been" and there was an absence of a "proper, settled system" for staff to work to on the ride.

The case was sent to the crown court for sentencing, where a large fine is expected to be handed out.

ITV News Midlands Correspondent Ben Chapman was in court for the hearing:

The Smiler ride was closed following the crash, but reopened in March, eight months after the crash.

In total sixteen people were injured on the ride when the carriage they were in collided with another that had come to a halt on the track on June 2.

Leah Washington and Vicky Balch both had to have a leg amputated following the crash.

Leah's boyfriend Joe Pugh was left with life-changing injuries after both his kneecaps were shattered, while Vicky's partner Daniel Thorpe, and Chandaben Chauhan, 49, were also seriously injured.