OUTRAGED PARENTS have hit out at a bus driver who completed a Perthshire school run while three times the drink-drive limit.
They say the actions of Kenneth Carey put their children’s safety at risk.
It is understood the offence only came to light when a terrified pupil used a mobile phone to text their mother after becoming concerned the driver was under the influence.
Carey, of Aultbeag Road, Grandtully, had driven more than 20 miles from Killin to Aberfeldy, picking up children along the way, before he was pulled over in the grounds of Breadalbane Community Campus.
The 56-year-old, who operated his own contract hire bus, appeared yesterday at Perth Sheriff Court and admitted that on June 21 last year, on Main Street, Killin, roads within Breadalbane Community Campus in Aberfeldy, and elsewhere unknown, he drove a school bus with excess alcohol (105 mics). The legal limit is 35 mics.
A father whose child attends the school at Aberfeldy described the incident as “absolutely disgraceful”.
He said: “How can someone even think about driving while they are in such a state, especially when they are in charge of schoolchildren where is the duty of care here?
“Anything could have happened to them and he wouldn’t have been fit to do anything about it. It just beggars belief.”
Solicitor Paul Ralph said a motion had been made to seize the vehicle, a Mercedes Vario that can carry up to 28 people.
A spokeswoman for Perth and Kinross Council confirmed that Carey’s firm, Caber Coaches, had a contract with the local authority.
She said: “Following this incident the council immediately banned the driver from council contracts and made alternative arrangements for the route concerned.
“The company continues to operate other transport routes, including three school buses, in Perth and Kinross staffed by other drivers.”
Members of Breadalbane Parent Council have slammed Carey’s actions, deeming them “irresponsible and appalling”.
Councillor Ian Campbell, a local ward member who sits on the parent council, said: “I am obviously appalled at this incident.
“It is socially irresponsible to drink and drive at any time, let alone when you know you will be driving schoolchildren in a bus. I hope he is dealt with using the full force of the law.”
Sentence was deferred until February 20 to allow reports to be prepared, and the accused was banned from driving in the interim.
sgray@thecourier.co.uk