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| School bus drink-driver's crash | School bus drink-driver's crash |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| A school bus driver who crashed, moments after dropping off 30 children, was three times over the drink-drive limit, a court has heard. | A school bus driver who crashed, moments after dropping off 30 children, was three times over the drink-drive limit, a court has heard. |
| Anthony Hoskins, 49, from Chepstow, Monmouthshire, reversed the single decker bus into a building in Sedbury, Gloucestershire. | Anthony Hoskins, 49, from Chepstow, Monmouthshire, reversed the single decker bus into a building in Sedbury, Gloucestershire. |
| He admitted drink-driving and received a 14-week jail sentence suspended for a year. He was also banned from driving. | He admitted drink-driving and received a 14-week jail sentence suspended for a year. He was also banned from driving. |
| Cheltenham magistrates heard he drank heavily at a funeral the previous day. | |
| They also ordered him to do 200 hours of unpaid community work and banned him from driving for 25 months. | |
| Hoskins, who also runs TJ's Travel company, reversed his single-decker bus into the 1 Rifles regiment's welfare building, after the children aged between four and 11 had just stepped off the vehicle. | Hoskins, who also runs TJ's Travel company, reversed his single-decker bus into the 1 Rifles regiment's welfare building, after the children aged between four and 11 had just stepped off the vehicle. |
| Drinking heavily | Drinking heavily |
| It happened as he was about to leave the Beachley Barracks in Sedbury, on Tuesday afternoon, after picking up 30 pupils from the Offa's Mead and Wyedean schools, said prosecutor Louise Pinder. | |
| Hoskins had been drinking heavily the previous day at a business colleague's funeral, the court heard. | Hoskins had been drinking heavily the previous day at a business colleague's funeral, the court heard. |
| Court chairwoman Margaret Mallen told him: "You were driving a bus and you had children on board between the ages of four and 11. That is a very responsible position to be in." | Court chairwoman Margaret Mallen told him: "You were driving a bus and you had children on board between the ages of four and 11. That is a very responsible position to be in." |
| She added: "We have taken into account your early guilty plea, the fact that you have no previous convictions and that you were co-operative with the police. But nonetheless this was a very serious offence." | She added: "We have taken into account your early guilty plea, the fact that you have no previous convictions and that you were co-operative with the police. But nonetheless this was a very serious offence." |
| Malcolm Perry, for Hoskins, said it was a "one-off but he should have known better". | Malcolm Perry, for Hoskins, said it was a "one-off but he should have known better". |
| He added: "He is the one who organises the contracts for the business while his wife does the paperwork. | He added: "He is the one who organises the contracts for the business while his wife does the paperwork. |
| "They have 11 employees and obviously the business would be devastated if he were deprived of his liberty." | "They have 11 employees and obviously the business would be devastated if he were deprived of his liberty." |
| The incident has prompted a major review of school bus services by Gloucestershire County Council, which has suspended Hoskins from all contracts with immediate effect. | The incident has prompted a major review of school bus services by Gloucestershire County Council, which has suspended Hoskins from all contracts with immediate effect. |
| Gareth Blackett, the council's access manager, said: "The driver has been suspended from all council contracts and we are launching a review into our procedures for dealing with incidents like this." | Gareth Blackett, the council's access manager, said: "The driver has been suspended from all council contracts and we are launching a review into our procedures for dealing with incidents like this." |
| Hoskins' firm has had council school bus contracts since 2006. | Hoskins' firm has had council school bus contracts since 2006. |
| They have three vehicles and run seven routes. | They have three vehicles and run seven routes. |
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