Parents condemn 'dangerous' school trip

Some families are refusing to send children on the trip

Parents have been told a school trip to the eastern Mediterranean will go ahead despite their concerns.

Hundreds of schoolchildren throughout the country are booked on the eight-day cruise to Greece, Syria and Egypt through the Sussex-based travel company Voyages of Discovery.

They are due to leave on Friday but some concerned parents, who paid £900 each for the tickets, feel the trip should be cancelled.

They are worried the children may be at risk from terrorist attacks.

No refund

But the company has not cancelled the cruise and parents say that if their children do not go, they will not get a refund.

Andy Sutton said his 15-year-old daughter Lorna will not be going on the trip.

Why are we sending children into an extremely volatile and dangerous situation?

Andy Sutton, parent

She was one of 30 pupils from the Kesteven and Grantham Girls School in Lincolnshire who had booked.

He told BBC Radio Lincolnshire: "My main concern is that they are simply a soft target for some of these maniacs who seem to be spread across the Middle East in various terror cells.

"These people are sophisticated enough to put 20 hijackers in America. They know cruise ships go to the east Mediterranean.

"Why are we sending children into an extremely volatile and dangerous situation?"

'Terrorism threat'

Roger Langford of Brierley Hill in the West Midlands has also refused to send his child on the trip: "I was concerned even prior to the incidents in America because of the Palestinian suicide bombing."

But the travel company has said the safety of the passengers is "paramount".

Egypt is one destination of Voyages of Discovery

"To avoid going to some of these countries would be to miss out on the educational element of the trip," a Voyage of Discovery spokesperson said.

Jane Hatton, whose daughter Alexandra was supposed to go on the cruise, added: "I know the foreign office are saying it is safe to travel but on their website they are saying Egypt is one of a number of countries which has a threat to terrorism.

"I am extremely worried and a lot of parents are very concerned about whether this is the right thing to do.

"The worrying thing is that if we do cancel, then we will lose all our money. We are asking the company to allow us to exercise the right to cancel the booking.