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| Easingwold School school bus flood rescue: Driver jailed | Easingwold School school bus flood rescue: Driver jailed |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A school bus driver whose vehicle became stranded in floodwater with 23 pupils on board has been jailed for a year. | A school bus driver whose vehicle became stranded in floodwater with 23 pupils on board has been jailed for a year. |
| Graham Jones, 53, had driven past two road closed signs ahead of the incident between Newton-on-Ouse and Tollerton, near York, on 5 January. | |
| He denied dangerous driving but was convicted following a trial. | He denied dangerous driving but was convicted following a trial. |
| Jones, of Linton Woods Lane, Linton-on-Ouse, was also handed a 36-month driving ban at York Crown Court. | Jones, of Linton Woods Lane, Linton-on-Ouse, was also handed a 36-month driving ban at York Crown Court. |
| Read more about this and other stories from across York and North Yorkshire | Read more about this and other stories from across York and North Yorkshire |
| Judge Paul Batty QC told Jones he had shown "vaunted arrogance" during his evidence and did not understand why he had not pleaded guilty given the evidence against him. | |
| The bus was transporting the pupils on an eight-mile (12km) journey to Easingwold School on the first day of school following the Christmas holiday. | |
| Jones had driven through one stretch of water without incident but got stuck when he attempted to drive through a second stretch, the court heard. | Jones had driven through one stretch of water without incident but got stuck when he attempted to drive through a second stretch, the court heard. |
| Prosecutors said he had driven past two road closed signs, although Jones claimed he had only seen one and thought it referred to a bridge closure nearby. | Prosecutors said he had driven past two road closed signs, although Jones claimed he had only seen one and thought it referred to a bridge closure nearby. |
| He told the court he had made a "genuine mistake". | He told the court he had made a "genuine mistake". |
| In sentencing, Judge Batty said Jones had refused to accept the amount of danger he put the children in because of his "reckless act". | |
| He said: "This was an extremely bad case of dangerous driving. | |
| "The consequences that could have followed simply do not bear thinking about." | |
| None of the secondary school pupils on board the bus were injured but some had to be carried to safety by fire fighters. | |
| Speaking after sentencing, a spokeswoman for North Yorkshire Police said: "It should send a clear warning to drivers not to ignore road closure signs that are put in place to protect people, and to heed the dangers of driving through floodwater." |