Autistic boy left on locked schoolbus for hours

A vulnerable autistic schoolboy “could have died” after being left on a locked school bus for more than two hours, his mother said.

Jennifer Evans said her 12-year-old son Thomas was only discovered when he sounded the horn.

Ms Evans, from Stockbridge Village in Merseyside, told the BBC she had done “nothing but cry” after being told her son had been driven back to a bus depot in Kirkby instead of being dropped off at school.

The bus company, Knowsley-based Supreme Executive Travel, apologised for the 24 April incident, said it had conducted a full investigation, and sacked a member of staff.

“I’ve barely slept,” 39-year-old Ms Evans said.

“The thought of him going out of this house now really frightens me because it just goes to show how vulnerable he is when I’m not there to protect him.

“I’m putting all my trust in these strangers and I’m so scared because you don’t really know a person, do you? And then these things happen.

“It just really makes you just want to wrap him up in cotton wool.”

Thomas, who has complex needs, was supposed to have been dropped off at Alt Bridge Secondary School, which caters to children with special educational needs, in Huyton at just after 09:30 BST.

An investigation report, seen by the BBC, said school staff were instead called by Supreme Executive Travel at 11:45 to say Thomas had been found at the depot.

Alt Bridge has also said it was “truly sorry” for its part in Thomas’s ordeal and acknowledged a “combination of things” went wrong that morning with handover procedures.

It said a safeguarding incident in the school had also delayed staff from contacting Ms Evans to ask where Thomas was.

Ms Evans said she was contacted by a manager at Supreme Executive Travel around the same time. She told her Thomas had been found after sounding the horn on the bus.

She said: “My son suffered that day. He could’ve died really.

“I know it sounds drastic, but he could have because of his severe asthma.”

She said in January 2024, Thomas had suffered an asthma attack so severe he stopped breathing and she had to perform CPR until an ambulance arrived.

Ms Evans said Thomas also has very low kidney function, which meant that not being able to go to the toilet for an extended period could have had serious repercussions.

Thomas, who can only repeat back words that are said to him and is considered non-verbal, had been unable to tell his mother his feelings about what happened.

But she said he had suffered from night terrors since that day, and that she suspected they were caused by the trauma of being locked on the bus.

Ms Evans also said she has been frustrated by the response of Supreme Executive Travel, who she accused of not answering her questions.

“I want answers, I want the company to be held accountable for their actions,” she said.

Dean Dumbell, group chief executive for Supreme Executive Travel, told the BBC: “We take full responsibility for this situation and are committed to ensuring that similar incidents are avoided in the future.

“Within 24 hours of the incident, the entire organisation underwent an emergency briefing and further training to reinforce the robust protocols we already have in place.”

Mr Dumbell said a letter of apology had been written and sent to Ms Evans on 6 May, which she said she had not received.

Knowsley Council, which commissioned Supreme Executive Travel to provide transport to Alt Bridge, said a Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) investigation had taken place.

A spokesperson said: “A number of issues were highlighted where processes were not followed, and these have been picked up directly with the transport provider and the school.”

A statement from Alt Bridge added: “Lessons have been learned and additional preventive measures have been introduced by school.”