A coach driver who died following a crash on the M1 near Hemel Hempstead has been named by police.

Stephen Kitching, 57, from Kendal in Cumbria, passed away at the scene after the coach he was driving collided with a lorry in the early hours of Sunday January 30.

Paying tribute, Mr Kitching's sister Dawn Dixon said: "Stephen was a lovely gentleman. Anyone who met him would leave with a smile and a sore stomach from laughing.

"He leaves behind sisters, nephews, nieces and great nieces and he will be sadly missed."

The crash occurred on the northbound carriageway of the M1 between junction 8 for Hemel Hempstead and 9 for Redbourn just before 5.25am.

Police initially said a lorry and a car were also involved and the motorway was closed for nearly 14 hours to allow accident investigation work to take place.

A 29-year-old woman, who was driving the car, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and driving above the alcohol limit.

She was released under investigation but police say following enquiries, she is no longer being investigated in connection with the fatal crash. However, she remains under investigation for drink driving.

Police enquiries into the fatal collision between the coach and lorry continue.

Sergeant Simon Cooper, from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire road policing unit said: "Our thoughts remain with Stephen’s family and friends at this very difficult time.

"Our enquiries are continuing in order to establish the circumstances around what happened and we are still appealing for any witnesses who haven’t yet spoken to police to please come forward.

"We’re particularly keen to hear from anyone who may have captured dash cam footage of the incident, or of the vehicles travelling in the area prior to it."

Anyone with information can report online at herts.police.uk/ro/report or call 101 quoting ISR 124 of 30 January, 2022.