NEARLY 50 pupils from Lakelands School in Ellesmere found themselves in a hotel lock down as Hurricane Sandy hit New York yesterday (Monday).


The group of 47 students from a variety of year groups, plus around six or seven members of staff had flown out to the city on Saturday for five days.
 

But as the hurricane made land-fall last night flight cancellations had left a question mark over the group’s return.
 

Claire Evans, whose son Dominic Poli was one of those stranded at the Travel Inn on 42nd Street, said there had been initial concerns after a lack of communication between the group, the school and parents.


She said: “We hadn’t heard anything, that was the worry, but he’s just phoned up and they have been grounded. I don’t know how much they [the pupils] actually know, whether they think it’s just a bit windy.
 

“All the children are safely in hotel and have food and have been given torches in case of power failure.”
 

Despite the current weather, Mrs Evans said Dominic, 14, had enjoyed his first full day in the city, taking in Times Square and the local area, but trips to Ground Zero yesterday and a ferry ride on the Hudson River today would be cancelled.”
 

Lakelands staff were manning the phones from mid-morning on Tuesday to answer any queries but they do not expect them to return on Wednesday due to the backlog because fo flight cancellations.