Black Country schoolchildren stranded in USA after hotel 'shreds 44 passports'
A group of Black Country schoolchildren have been stranded in the USA after their hotel "shredded 44 passports" by mistake.
The children from Barr Beacon School, Walsall, were due to fly home on Saturday after enjoying a ski trip near Boston.
However, teachers were horrified to discover passports given to the Kancamagus Lodge Hotel, New Hampshire, had destroyed by mistake making them miss their flights home.
The group have had to travel to New York to the British Embassy to get emergency travel documents to enable their safe journey home, which has now been put back four days.
Headteacher Katie Hibbs told the Express & Star: "We have a group of pupils and staff currently in New York after spending a week skiing in Boston.
"Unfortunately, the hotel managed to destroy the passports in their care, which has led to all those affected having to apply for Emergency Travel Documents. The group are at the British Embassy in New York today to finalise all of the documents before they fly home on Tuesday, four days later than planned."
The headteacher praised the staff who had to deal with the situation in America.
She said: "Although this has been a fraught time for all involved, the pupils have remained positive and my staff on the ground in the USA have worked around the clock to ensure that the pupils are all safe and returned home as soon as possible. I must also thank the parents who have all been very supportive.
"I'm looking forward to receiving all of the party back very soon."
Parents of the pupils were shocked their children could not fly home when agreed.
One parent, who did not want to be named, said: "I could not believe my eyes when I was reading the email about the emergency travel documents. How can a hotel shred 44 passports? It is not like they were pieces of paper, they were actual passports.
"We had to wait weeks to get a passport in the first place, I will be asking the hotel or school to pay for a replacement."
It is impossible to fly out of America without a passport and the British Embassy charges upwards of £150 to issue a one off emergency travel document.
The schoolchildren flew out to America on Friday, February 17 and had been skiing in the White Mountains of New England.
The Express & Star has contacted the Kancamagus Lodge Hotel for a comment.
