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Karolis Jaskus, Simon Eyers, Rhys Morgan and Jordan Williams,
all aged 11, and headteacher Karen Simpson sign their
disappointment over the vandalised minibus |
Vandals ruin Easter trip for deaf pupils
Minibus smashed with stones from school's own display
VANDALS smashed up a school minibus for deaf children, depriving
the pupils of a much-awaited Easter trip out to a farm.
The pupils, who all attend Frank Barnes School for Deaf Children
in Swiss Cottage, were devastated when they arrived for their
day out only to find that hooligans had thrown stones from the
school’s own display, shattering the van’s windscreen.
Teachers were forced to cancel the trip, instead taking their
profoundly deaf nursery-age students, who are all taught through
sign language, by tube to Queen’s Park in Kilburn instead.
Detectives were called to the school at 3am last Thursday after
guests at the nearby Marriott Hotel, on Harley Road, were awoken
by the sound of smashing glass.
Headteacher Karen Simpson said: “The trip was ruined and
the children were disappointed. When they arrived, they were
disturbed to see their bus badly damaged. We’ve got a stone
display as part of our entrance. They used our own display to
damage the window.”
She said the vandals had also struck at other cars on the street,
adding: “It was the last week of term, that was the only
trip that had to be cancelled, but it’s the inconvenience
that has been caused and the bus has to be repaired.”
The bus, which is also used to take sports teams to competitions
and groups to weekly swimming classes, will have to be repaired
at the school’s cost.
Ms Simpson fears the school will also now have to stump up for
higher insurance cover.
She said: “The older children use it less because they
can walk further but the younger children really need it.”
And this was not the first time the van has been targeted.
The school had to fork out for CCTV cameras after thieves ransacked
the vehicle twice before.
Year 6 pupil Karolis Jaskus, 11, said yesterday: “I’m
really disappointed and upset and it means the nursery’s
trip was disrupted. We all felt really shocked.”
Classmate Simon Eyers added: “We’re also upset because
it’s a waste of money. We’d like the police to catch
the people who did it and we’d like the local community
to tell us if they know anything so they can be stopped.”
Detectives are scanning CCTV evidence to trace two men in their
20s seen making off down Harley Road.
Anyone with information should contact Camden Police on 020
7404 1212. |
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