A determined Orkney father managed to save 14 children from a broken-down school bus while it was being lashed by waves during Storm Caroline.
The Press and Journal reported how the vehicle broke down in Kirkwall on Thursday causing Eddie Ratter, 57, to race to the rescue in the middle of storm after getting a call from his daughter Michaela, 12.
The pupils, aged between 12 and 16, from the nearby Kirkwall Grammar School had been stranded on Old Scapa Road for an hour and half.
He said: “The water was about 1’6 feet deep. The waves were going over top of the bus, even seaweed was going over the bus.”
“At one point I lost sight of the bus in the spray, I drew parallel but couldn’t do anything, so I drove round through a housing scheme and reversed to the door.”
Mr Ratter managed to get the children off carrying 14 children over two trips and left them at the Orkney Islands Marine Office where he said the police thanked him.
But Mr Ratter was angry that the schools were open given the weather warnings: “I have no idea why you would take children out to school in the middle of a storm.”
Peter Diamond, Orkney Islands Council’s Head of Lifelong Learning and Inclusion, said such: “Decisions are not taken lightly. Safety of pupils is at the heart of this.”
“We will consider all aspects of this incident very carefully and make changes to our procedures if required.”