Hurricane Sandy Shropshire pupils await news of flying home

Forty seven pupils and staff from Lakelands School in Ellesmere were due to fly home on Tuesday evening but have been stuck in Manhattan because airports were closed. The school has yet to confirm when the pupils will return.

Pupils and staff spent three days bunked down in their hotel room but have managed to go shopping at Macys and visit Ground Zero.

Some parents said they were worried about how much the unplanned extra stay will cost them.

Angela Roberts said she has not spoken to her son Jac, 15, since Monday because he does not have a mobile phone.

She said: "I'm wary about money now because he didn't go out there with a huge amount of dollars."

Lee Gorton, from Dudleston Heath, whose son Daniel, 14, is a Year Nine student at the school, said: "Our hands are tied. I'm getting frustrated.The main thing is that all the students are safe and get home."

Head teacher Ian Sanders said the pupils were 'safe and well' and that money had been transferred to make sure everyone had enough to eat and drink.

A group of 23 Year 11 pupils and three members of staff from the Priory School in Shrewsbury also remain in the city after their scheduled flight home on Tuesday was cancelled.

Wendy Blower, the teacher leading the trip, said today the group has now been booked on to two flights leaving JFK Airport on Thursday, taking them back to Heathrow. But she said efforts are still being made to get them on an earlier flight if possible.

Eighteen pupils and six staff from Idsall School in Shifnal are also stranded and are unlikely to be able to fly home until Tuesday.