Pupils fake illness to stop coach

Two pupils were ordered to fake illness on a coach trip to France because their teachers feared the driver might crash.

Teacher Sue Williams came up with the plan after the coach carrying pupils from Willingsworth High School in Tipton, West Midlands, narrowly missed a car.

She was worried the driver was falling asleep at the wheel as he drove the group back from a three-day trip last Friday.

Ms Williams said she became concerned after the group boarded the coach at Bayeux in Normandy.

Driver unhappy

She said was sitting at the front and discussing the trip when she believed she spotted the driver's head rolling and his eyes closing.

Miss Williams, who is head of humanities, explained her actions in a letter to pupils' parents.

(The driver) didn't remember the incidents when I told him and looked at me quite blankly Sue Williams

She wrote: "The driver came across as very vague. He almost collided with a white car feeding in from the slip road.

"I asked for advice from assistant head teacher Miss Dot Bond via my mobile phone after I was concerned about his capability.

"Following her advice, I arranged for two members of my form to feign an illness to get the coach stopped."

Miss Bond then arranged with Halsbury Travel, the company who organised the trip, to have the journey rerouted to Le Havre.

The firm promised the group would be met with a relief driver once their ferry had reached Portsmouth.

Responsible actions

Miss Williams added: "I told the driver this and he already knew.

"He was not happy and seemed quite put out by my actions.

"He didn't remember the incidents when I told him and looked at me quite blankly."

Keith Sharkey, managing director of Nottingham-based Halsbury Travel, said the coach was provided by Anne's Executive Coaches of Kempsey in Worcestershire and added that an inquiry was under way.

"On the return journey the teachers in charge of the party thought that they detected signs of fatigue or tiredness in the driver," he said.

"Acting responsibly, and in the best interest of their party, they asked the driver to stop at a rest area and contacted Halsbury Travel to indicate their concern."