Children 'dumped by bus driver' say parents
By Jo Deeks on Thursday, 18th January 2001.
A GROUP of furious parents claim their children were "dumped" beside a busy road after a bus service was changed without notice.
The parents are now seeking an apology from Burton Coaches after the incident near Haverhill.
Bob Topp, headteacher at Parkway Middle School, is also demanding assurances from the coach firm that the situation will not be repeated.
However, he has been unable to speak to anyone in authority at the company about the incident last Tuesday.
Mr Topp said the bus company had told the school it was unable to run the usual bus to outlying villages, including Great Bradley and Thurlow, so the pupils should travel with others going to Kedington.
But when the bus reached Wratting Road, 10 pupils were told that it would not be going to their villages and the driver asked them to get off and wait for another bus to pick them up.
The group of pupils aged between nine and 13 years old waited for around 25 minutes.
"Clearly I'm most unhappy about it," Mr Topp said.
"I understand that any bus company will experience operational difficulties from time to time, but they should be managed without putting children at risk."
Jeff Oakley, a school governor and father of James, 10, said he and his wife Carol, along with other parents, were very angry that their children had been "dumped" at the side of the road.
He has not let his son travel on the bus since the incident.
"Anything could have happened to them. A responsible driver would not have just left them there," he said.
"You cannot keep that number of children under control if there is no adult about.
"He just dropped them off in the middle of nowhere. What makes it worse is the school has received no apology or even an explanation."
No-one from Burton Coaches was available for comment.
PHOTO CAPTION: Seeking apology... mum Carol Oakley and her son james with other children, she says were left by the roadside, Carla Wilbraham, left, and Kirsty Wilbraham
The parents are now seeking an apology from Burton Coaches after the incident near Haverhill.
Bob Topp, headteacher at Parkway Middle School, is also demanding assurances from the coach firm that the situation will not be repeated.
However, he has been unable to speak to anyone in authority at the company about the incident last Tuesday.
Mr Topp said the bus company had told the school it was unable to run the usual bus to outlying villages, including Great Bradley and Thurlow, so the pupils should travel with others going to Kedington.
But when the bus reached Wratting Road, 10 pupils were told that it would not be going to their villages and the driver asked them to get off and wait for another bus to pick them up.
The group of pupils aged between nine and 13 years old waited for around 25 minutes.
"Clearly I'm most unhappy about it," Mr Topp said.
"I understand that any bus company will experience operational difficulties from time to time, but they should be managed without putting children at risk."
Jeff Oakley, a school governor and father of James, 10, said he and his wife Carol, along with other parents, were very angry that their children had been "dumped" at the side of the road.
He has not let his son travel on the bus since the incident.
"Anything could have happened to them. A responsible driver would not have just left them there," he said.
"You cannot keep that number of children under control if there is no adult about.
"He just dropped them off in the middle of nowhere. What makes it worse is the school has received no apology or even an explanation."
No-one from Burton Coaches was available for comment.
PHOTO CAPTION: Seeking apology... mum Carol Oakley and her son james with other children, she says were left by the roadside, Carla Wilbraham, left, and Kirsty Wilbraham
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