WALTHAMSTOW: Special needs child locked in bus for hours

9:00am Friday 21st November 2008

Comments (1)   Have your say »

A CHILD with special needs was locked in a bus for several hours after a cab company tasked with delivery him safely to school failed to notice he had fallen asleep on board.

The boy was one of several pupils collected from home to be taken to William Morris School by taxi firm Prime Cars and Contracts, of Hoe Street, Walthamstow, on November 5.

The cab firm was sub contracted to do the job by CT Plus, a private firm working for the council to transport 500 pupils at the school in Folly Lane, Walthamstow.

When the minibus taxi got to the school a passenger assistant and driver from the firm took the pupils into the school and handed them over to school staff.

But neither staff member checked to make sure the bus was empty.

Soon the bus was off again and was driven to a separate location, where the driver locked it up and left it for several hours.

The boy remained stuck in the bus until he was noticed by a member of the public who summoned the police.

The council have refused to reveal when the age of the pupil, the nature of his disability and when incident took place.

Prime Cars refused to comment about the issue but CT Plus said the incident has been investigated and a full report passed onto the council.

“The investigation showed that both members of Prime Cars and Contracts crew did have up to date Criminal Records Bureau checks in place and that the driver held a valid Public Carriage Office licence,” he said.

But the firm lost the contract for the route, with a stipulation that neither member of the crew involved can work on CT Plus contracts in the future.

Cllr Chris Robbins, cabinet member for children and young people, said: “The safety and well-being of the borough’s young people is paramount and I am absolutely appalled that this was allowed to happen.

“While I am glad that the matter has been investigated by CT Plus and that the contract for this route has been taken away from Prime Cars and I will be seeking further assurances that our most vulnerable residents are not treated so negligently again.”

In September 2005 William Morris children were stuck on buses for up to two hours, half an hour over the 90 minute maximum stipulated in the contract.

Others were left waiting when their names were left off CT Plus lists.

William Morris School declined to comment on the incident.