Thieves snatch parts from school minibus
STUDENTS have been left in tears after heartless burglars damaged a specialist school’s minibus.
Unknown offenders entered the car park of Broadfield Specialist School in Oswaldtwistle and ripped out the bonnet, headlights and indicators from a Ford Tourneo.
School bosses said two men were captured on CCTV at around 9.15pm on Wednesday, April 24.
They parked a car on the opposite side of Fielding Lane until the minibus had been stripped and then moved their vehicle close to the school gate to load the stolen parts.
The minibus is used to help pupils attend events and activities and the incident forced the school to cancel a planned trip to Southport.
A spokesperson said: “This has an immediate effect on our students learning.
“We use these buses for pupils to attend local supermarkets, outdoor learning, hydrotherapy, reward trips, educational visits residentials, Saturday club, and as many opportunities staff can arrange for students to enhance their learning.
“This also has a knock on effect for our ASD students when outings get changed/ cancelled, due to them relying on routine. Parents are affected when students get home stressed, due to changes to their day not being able to take part in their trips out of school.
“It is pure thoughtlessness to target a specialist school committing such a crime.”
Evans Halshaw Ford in Blackburn have offered the school a replacement minibus free of charge.