CHILDREN have been left stranded after thieves stole wheels from their minibus which they have had for just a fortnight.

Trips planned for the pupils of St Bartholomew’s Primary School, Stourport, have been put on hold while safety checks are carried out following the replacement of the stolen wheels.

The theft has also hit the meals service St Bartholomew’s provides to other schools in the district and left it out of pocket.

Pupils were “horrified” when they walked into school on Monday morning to find the bus cordoned off and the wheels missing, said school bursar Kate Ready.

She said they had been excited when the vehicle was bought two weeks ago, as it was to be used to take them on trips to different events in Wyre Forest.

Now those visits have been postponed after the wheels were taken last Friday evening. She said: “Some people came over the school fence and stole the wheels. I feel annoyed that people have taken something that we’ve worked hard for. I feel sick. You take it personally because the school is a community and someone’s targeted the school.

“The children were horrified. They wanted to know what happened to it and the parents were also upset.”

As the minibus is on lease from Worcestershire County Council, the wheels have now been replaced but it will have to be taken away for safety checks. Parents got together to raise cash to pay the insurance excess. It is expected to be out of action for about three weeks and Mrs Ready said it would have a big impact on the school’s in-house catering service. The school uses the bus to transport meals to schools in Astley, Great Witley and Habberley.

She said: “We’ve got nothing else. We’ve had to use a taxi to transport meals, which is a huge cost. It has a huge impact on the children and the finance of the school because we’ve got to pay to get this right.

“Fortunately, it’s insured but we’ve still got an excess of £250, which is money we could put into educating the children. You hear about people having minibuses stolen from their businesses but when it’s children it’s heartbreaking.”

Anyone with information on the theft should call police on 0300 333 3000, or ring Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.