School bus driver told off for leaving pupils at Greggs
A SCHOOL bus driver has been reprimanded for dropping pupils off at a Greggs bakery when they should have been in class.
It is understood that at least 10 youngsters aged between 11 and 15 got back on the bus after it had dropped them off at Cynffig Comprehensive School in Kenfig Hill, near Bridgend in the morning.
One parent said pupils asked the driver to take them to Greggs, which is about a mile away.
She claimed the driver agreed and said he would drop them back at the school afterwards, but left them.
“They ended up walking back to school,” she said.
“Children could have been run over or not gone back to school all day. Anything could have happened.”
The bus involved was owned by Gwyn Jones and Son, which is based in Bryncethin, Bridgend.
The parent, who does not want to be named, said pupils had taken the bus from North Cornelly to school on the morning of April 26, but then decided to get back on and go to Greggs in nearby Pyle.
She said: “The school was notified by other children who saw the children go back on to the bus.
“The school was brilliant and acted on it straight away,”
She claimed the school was initially told the incident had involved just two children who claimed they needed to get back home because of an emergency, but that this later proved to be untrue.
“The kids were all being kids and trying to protect each other by saying they didn’t go on to the bus,” the parent added.
She claimed it was “days” before Bridgend County Borough Council confirmed what had happened.
It is understood that the driver involved has been reprimanded, but remains with Gwyn Jones and Son, which retains its contract for the route from North Cornelly to Cynffig Comprehensive.
A spokesman for Bridgend council said: “As soon as this matter was reported, the council carried out a full investigation and the bus company undertook swift action against the employee. We are satisfied that appropriate measures are in place to ensure this incident will not reoccur.”