Children at an end of year school prom were left in tears and stuck in limos after a group of bikers allegedly ruined the evening by blocking the road.
Year 6 pupils from at St Gregory’s Catholic Academy, in Longton, near Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, had been attending the prom on Thursday night when a group of 60 bikers turned up.
It is claimed the group then scared children by revving their engines and created a ‘blockade’ leaving parents unable to drive down the road.
The school has hit out at the group for causing ‘disruption on the public highway’, and says it is in the hands of the police.
But the bikers themselves have hit back, saying they were there to support a little girl who was at the prom and whose mum claimed had been the victim of bullying at the school.
They added it was the behaviour of other irate parents that had left children in tears and claimed that one parent had threatened members of the group.
Parents have slammed the bikers, claiming they ruined what was meant to be a special occasion for their children
The incident came days after the the schools awards evening was marred by threats made by one mum, with the school going into lockdown a day later on Wednesday after the a complaint made against the same woman, Stoke-on-Trent Live reports.
Following this, the schools end of year prom for Year 6 leavers descended into chaos when the bikers arrived, parents claim.
It is reported that clashes between parents and the bikers took place at around 6pm, when parents were left unable to drive down the road due to the ‘blockade’, with those that did make it having to be ‘carried out of their limos by teachers’.
A Facebook event was set up calling for ‘as many bikes as possible’ to escort the girl, who was allegedly a victim of bullying at the school, to the event.
The bikers claim they did nothing wrong and it was the reaction of some parents that left some children in tears
Pictures and video from Thursday evening show a group of bikers waiting on Blurton Road before driving along Drubbery Lane in the direction of St Gregory’s. Police were then also called to the school due to the disruption.
Parents say their children were left ‘intimidated and frightened’ at what was supposed to be a celebration of their time at St Gregory’s.
Vikki Smith, aged 32, whose son attended last night’s prom, said: ‘My son was stuck in his limo with eight other children as they couldn’t get through the road. You couldn’t see for bikes, it was swarming. I asked them to move and they completely ignored me.
‘We were trying to take pictures of our children, but they were revving their engines so loud, the kids were absolutely petrified. My kids were dragged out of the limo by teachers for their own safety.
‘One child got stuck in the middle and was that scared he had to be carried into school crying, shaking and screaming. The teachers were trying to get them inside school as quickly as possible. Five parents rang 999.
‘We’ve got no issue with the bikers bringing a child to the prom, but why couldn’t they let everybody else through?
Parents Vikki Smith, Sarah Heeks and Louise Rowe outside St Gregory’s Catholic Academy in Longton. Ms Smith said her son was stuck in in his limo and couldn’t get out
‘My son will speak to anybody, he’s so bubbly, but when he came home last night I couldn’t get two words out of him, just one word answers. It scared my son last night.
‘It’s just a shame for the children as they wanted to come and have a good night, but instead they were intimidated and frightened.’
Adele Forbes’ daughter also attended last night’s prom. The 47-year-old said: ‘They blocked the road and my daughter was late for the prom because of it. They told us they’d been told to escort a girl who is being bullied at the school.
‘The mum of this child had started to get agitated at an awards evening on Tuesday night telling people to ‘f***k off’. She was saying she was going to kick off then.
‘Then first thing on Wednesday morning the school had to go into lockdown. I thought the fire alarms were going off, but it was because she was inside the school reportedly threatening to throw a vase.
‘A lot of our children are not used to that kind of behaviour and don’t deserve it. They want to remember their last few days at St Gregory’s as a happy place, a safe place.
‘But the only thing they’re going to remember now is someone being aggressive on the playground and they won’t understand why.’
Simon Grayley’s son also attended the leavers’ prom last night. The 45-year-old said: ‘It was awful. If they were dropping a girl off at school, that’s brilliant, but once the little girl was inside they tried to provoke a reaction from everyone and stop people from getting in.
‘My little lad had to be ushered into school. I’m disgusted. The children couldn’t hear over the revving engines and they were giving 10 and 11-year-olds grief.’
The cavalcade was organised by two friends after the girl’s mum issued a social media appeal. They raised £400 which paid for the girl’s dress, hair and make-up.
Organiser Clare Campbell said: ‘There were a lot of bikes and when we got there, bikes were pulling up along the road and making way for traffic, parents got impatient and a large man started to shout, swear and threaten bikers.
‘I was threatened in front of my children. I told them all to stop. Their behaviour is what was upsetting the children not the bikes.
‘There was a Porsche and, I think, a Ferrari that both revved their engines loudly but that was ok? Yes some bikes revved their engines but this is normal when doing a biker escort. It was no louder than the Porsche or Ferrari revving their engines.
‘I’m very happy that none of the bikers retaliated to the abuse we got. All we wanted to do was make a little girl’s night special and have her arrive in style. Bikers are great people and we do a lot for charity.
‘I have arranged numerous biker escorts to proms and never had an issue. In fact everyone has loved it. I’m truly saddened and shocked at last night’s behaviour towards the bikers. Under no circumstances did we attempt to block the road.
‘I feel bad for the poor children that had to witness the disgusting behaviour of the parents. We tried to do something nice and are now wrongly criticised for it.
‘The bikers would have left a lot sooner if all the parents hadn’t made such a scene. We weren’t wanted there and they were ready for trouble. It was totally disgusting.’
Clare Campbell, who organised the biker gathering, said it was not the fault of those who attended. She said: ‘Bikers are great people and we do a lot for charity’
St Gregory’s says the matter is ‘now in the hands of Staffordshire Police’.
Chief Executive Margaret Yates said: ‘St Gregory’s has a robust anti-bullying and complaint policy in place and takes all reports of bullying or complaints very seriously.
‘Every report or complaint is promptly investigated and action taken, where necessary.
‘Unfortunately, an attempt was made to cause disruption on the public highway outside school as our end of year leavers’ arrived for their prom; the adult group involved is not associated with the school.
‘Some of our pupils were intimidated and reduced to tears by the behaviour of the group.
‘We are extremely grateful for the support of our parents who witnessed the incident and the matter is now in the hands of Staffordshire Police.’
The mother of the child has declined to comment.
Staffordshire Police are investigating both incidents.
A police spokesman said: ‘Police were called to a premises just before 8.50am on Wednesday (13 July) following reports of a disturbance.
‘Officers are working to establish the full circumstances of the incident and carrying out high-visibility patrols in the area. Inquiries are ongoing.’
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