MEMBERS of a York school choir looked set to miss out on a trip to a major concert in Manchester on Monday (January 22) after a coach firm ceased operations - until another firm stepped in to save the day.

Fishergate Primary School had booked with Stephensons of Easingwold for a coachload of pupils and staff to be picked up at 11.30am and taken to the Manchester Arena, where they were to join other school choirs for a ‘Young Voices’ concert last night.

School business manager Helen Deighton said staff only discovered an hour or so beforehand that the firm would not be able to honour the booking after they heard there was a problem at Stephensons, rang it up and no one answered the call.

She said they were beginning to panic when York Pullman came to the rescue and, within an hour, got a bus to the school by the scheduled time to take the youngsters to Manchester as planned.

“We are very grateful for York Pullman for helping us out at such short notice,” she said.

York Pullman managing director Tom James said the school was one of five Stephensons customers whom his firm helped out with trips planned for yesterday, with another group needing a bus to get to a swimming baths in Harrogate.

He said one Pullman bus took the Fishergate choir over to Manchester and then had to return to York, with another bus then being sent over later to pick the choir up at the end of the concert. The trip would lose money but Pullman was pleased to have been able to help out.

He said the firm had also agreed to help North Yorkshire County Council with five contracts, and Askham Bryan College with two. He said staff came in at 7.30am and were very busy throughout the day dealing with many calls.

The Press reported yesterday how Stephensons had informed North Yorkshire County Council on Friday night that it would not be in a position to operate its county council contracts, which included 27 school bus services for 900 secondary and primary pupils entitled to free school transport in the Ryedale, Harrogate and Hambleton districts.

The council worked through the weekend to make arrangements to cover its school transport contracts on an emergency basis with other operators. City of York Council said yesterday that Stephensons was not used to get pupils to York’s schools.

The Press attempted repeatedly yesterday to contact Stephensons for comment but no one answered our calls.